U.K. inflation hit a 41-year high of 11.1% annually in October, as household energy bills and food prices continued to soar.
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LONDON — U.K. inflation jumped to a 41-year high of 11.1% in October, exceeding expectations as food, transport and energy prices continued to squeeze households and businesses.
Economists polled by Reuters had projected an annual increase in the patron price index of 10.7%, and October’s print marks a rise from the 40-year high of 10.1% seen in September.
Despite the introduction of the federal government’s Energy Price Guarantee scheme, the Office for National Statistics said the biggest upward contributions got here from electricity, gas and other fuels.
“Indicative modelled consumer price inflation estimates suggest that the CPI rate would have last been higher in October 1981, where the estimate for the annual inflation rate was 11.2%,” the ONS said.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed heavily, rising by 16.4% within the 12 months to October to notch its highest annual rate since September 1977.
The country faces its longest recession on record, in response to the Bank of England, while the federal government and central bank are trying to coordinate the tightening of fiscal and monetary policy so as to rein in inflation.
Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt will deliver a recent fiscal statement on Thursday and is anticipated to announce substantial tax hikes and spending cuts in a bid to plug a £50 billion-plus hole within the country’s public funds.
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