Cost of a pint rises at four times the rate of inflation
The cost of a pint has risen by 6% in the last year — four times the rate of inflation, research suggests.
The average pint in the UK now costs £3.94 ($5.19), up from £3.70 in 2019, according to analysis by price comparison website Finder.
This is four times the rate of inflation during the same period, with general prices rising 1.5% since March 2019.
This rise is “unlikely” to put customers off after pubs were closed from 23 March to 4 July during the COVID-19 lockdown, said Finder’s shopping expert Georgia-Rose Johnson.
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“However, it is probable that pubs and bars may have to increase their prices in order to make up for the losses they have incurred by being closed over the last three months, causing the cost of a pint to be even more expensive next year,” she said.
London is the most expensive city to grab a socially-distanced drink now pubs have reopened, with a pint costing an average of £5.19. However, Brighton isn’t far behind, with locals paying £5.02 per pint.
Meanwhile, Cambridge is the third-most expensive, at £4.91, and Edinburgh and Oxford round out the top five, at £4.74 and £4.49, respectively.
At the other end of the scale, Dundee is the cheapest UK city to drink a pint, at just £3.08 — 41% cheaper than London and 86p less than the national average.
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Swansea (£3.12), Perth (£3.14), Sunderland (£3.30) and Stoke-on-Trent (£3.33) follow closely behind.
Out of the most populated cities in the world, London is the 19th most expensive, but a pint in Dubai, Oslo, Manama and New York City is more expensive, costing £2 to £3.50 more.
However, the most expensive pint, costing an eye-watering £10.86, can be found in Doha, Qatar.
Meanwhile, the cheapest, at just 32p, can be found in Caracas, Venezuela.
Freetown in Sierra Leone comes in second, at 41p, followed by Lusaka, Zambia, at 57p.
