The News
The UK’s inflation rate unexpectedly surged to 3.5% in April, a percentage point and a half higher than its target level and the largest increase in more than a year.
The biggest contributors were the rising costs of household bills such as water and energy, the Office for National Statistics said. Higher food prices and an increase in the minimum wage were also contributing factors.
Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, who has struggled to boost the flagging growth rates that have plagued the UK in recent years, said she was “disappointed” by the figures, the BBC reported.
The Bank of England’s chief economist warned Tuesday that the country may have cut interest rates “too rapidly” since mid-2024, adding that long-term shifts in how businesses set prices and employees negotiate wages could keep “inflation higher for longer,” The Guardian reported.