UK inflation rises to highest since June 2014 as fuel costs surge

by Dramelin 3:30 AM 0 comments

Separate ONS data showed prices paid by factories for fuel and materials rose at an annual rate of 20.5 percent in January, the sharpest rise since September 2008. British consumer prices rose last month at the fastest pace since June 2014, caused by higher global oil prices and the Brexit vote-fueled fall in the value of sterling, official data showed on Tuesday. The cost of crude oil alone was more than 88 percent higher than a year earlier - the biggest increase since June 2000 - overwhelmingly driven by a global rebound in oil prices. Consumer prices rose 1.8 percent compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said, slightly below expectations for a 1.9 percent annual rise in a Reuters poll of economists. The Bank of England forecast earlier this month that inflation will rise above 2.7 percent in around a year`s time as Britain`s vote to leave the European Union pushes up the cost of imports.