Report reveals soaring cost of country living Market round-up

THE cost of living in the countryside has been rising nearly twice as fast as in urban areas over the past year.

The findings come from the Countryside Living Index, a new quarterly survey, which was launched yesterday by rural insurer NFU Mutual.

The analysis – studying a "basket" of the 21 items consumed more regularly by those living in the countryside – revealed that year-on-year "rural inflation" levels averaged 7.7% over 12 months, compared to the national average (consumer price index) of 4.3% for the same period.

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