Europe: The inflation in the United Kingdom hit a new 40-year high last month, which has increased above 10 percent for the first time since 1982 as well as pulling further pain on households already facing issues paying their bills.
The annual consumer price inflation hit 10.1 per cent in the month of July, as per the data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, increasing from 9.4 percent in June. The prices have soared by 12.7 percent since the month of July 2021 and were the largest single contributor to the acceleration in inflation, according to the Oncology Nursing Society.
The headline inflation number was higher than predicted by sources, and food inflation is now running at its highest level in 14 years.
Along with this, the ONS mentioned in the statement, “All the eleven food and non-alcoholic beverage classes made upward contributions to the change in the annual inflation rate, where prices overall increased their year but fell a year ago.”
The largest upward contributors came from bread and cereals, as well as from milk, cheese and eggs, with notable price increases in cheddar cheese and yoghurts.
On the basis of 30 days, the consumer price index was increased by 0.6 percent in the month of July, then with no change a year ago. The higher gasoline and diesel prices, together with rising airfares, were also to blame, added the ONS.
The higher-than-expected reading will keep the pressure on the Bank of England to follow the previous month’s biggest increase in interest rates in 27 years with further rate hikes despite mounting evidence of the pressure on household budgets and signs that the United Kingdom economy may already have entered a recession.
Moreover, the data published in the previous week showed that the nation’s GDP decreased by 0.1 percent in the second quarter of this year.
