Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Monopsony
A market with one buyer and many possible sellers, including workers seeking an employer.
Key term
What it means
A monopoly concerns one seller; a monopsony concerns one buyer. If a business is the only realistic buyer of a product, its suppliers may have little choice about the price it offers. The idea also applies to jobs: one major employer for a particular kind of work in an area could have power over pay. There need not be exactly one employer for some buyer power to exist, but a true monopsony means one buyer in the market being studied.
Example
Imagine a remote town with one factory buying a specialised crop from local growers and no practical way for them to sell it elsewhere. For those growers, the factory could be a monopsony buyer.
Why it matters
Limited choice can hurt sellers or workers as well as customers. Looking only at how many sellers a market has misses this side of the picture.
Related terms
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Barriers to entry
Obstacles that make it hard for a new business to start competing in a market.
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Collective bargaining
Workers' representatives and an employer negotiating pay or working conditions for a group.
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Market power
A business's ability to influence prices or conditions because customers or suppliers have limited alternatives.
Read more -
Monopoly
A market with only one seller of a particular good or service and no close alternative for buyers.
Read more -
Oligopoly
A market in which a small number of businesses make most of the sales.
Read more
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News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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