UK inflation is back in single digits
Inflation in the UK fell to its lowest level since March 2022 in April. However, the government is yet to clarify.
Economists surveyed expected a more significant decline.
Image: Alexander Spatteri/Getty Images
UK inflation fell to its lowest level in more than a year in April. Consumer prices rose by an average of 8.7% compared to the same month last year, the Office for Statistics ONS reported in London on Wednesday. This is the lowest value since March 2022. The inflation rate is back in single digits for the first time in seven months. It was still 10.1% in the previous March. However, economists polled by Reuters had forecast a sharper decline of 8.2%, while the central bank expected 8.4%.
So the government is yet to clarify. “Although inflation is now in the positive single digits, food prices are still rising rapidly,” said Jeremy Hunt, the Treasury Secretary. “We have to commit to a plan to reduce inflation.” The so-called core inflation rate — which excludes volatile energy, food and tobacco prices — also rose in April: 6.8%, its highest level since March 1982.
Continued rising inflation is forcing the Bank of England to tighten interest rates. Currency defenders around their boss, Andrew Bailey, raised the key monetary policy rate to 4.50% from 4.25% last week. This is the highest level since 2008. This is the twelfth consecutive increase. “We definitely have to be,” Bailey insisted to reporters recently. Inflation is still high. Along with high interest rates, the central bank is trying to contain dangerously high inflation, which is eroding Britons’ purchasing power. According to some experts, you can add more. The next interest rate decision is expected on June 22.
Reuters
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