UK inflation accelerates to 10.1% in September – Report

British inflation jumped back into double digits in September, official data showed on Wednesday, pushed up by soaring food prices as the country is gripped by a cost-of-living crisis, AFP reports. The Consumer Prices Index accelerated to 10.1 per cent on an annual basis, up from 9.9 per cent in August and back to its July high, according to the Office for National Statistics. The September rate matched the level in July and is the highest in 40 years as a result also of sky-high energy bills.

“I understand that families across the country are struggling with rising prices and higher energy bills,” Britain’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in a separate statement. This government will prioritise help for the most vulnerable while delivering wider economic stability and driving long-term growth that will help everyone.”

The government has been rocked by chaos in markets in the wake a budget that pledged uncosted tax cuts. The majority of those measures have since been reversed, leaving Prime Minister Liz Truss fighting to save her job. Following widespread criticism over the budget, Truss sacked Hunt’s predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, after less than six weeks in the role.

Analysts said Wednesday’s data would put pressure on the Bank of England to keep raising its main interest rate by sizeable amounts. Capital Economics noted that the BoE could hike its rate by as much as one percentage point to 3.25 percent at its next meeting in November.

(AFP)