UK inflation rises to its highest level since January 2024 after domestic bills spike

LONDON AP Inflation in the U K spiked to its highest level for more than a year in April amid a raft of higher domestic bills such as vitality and water official figures exhibited Wednesday The Office for National Statistics noted that its key measure of inflation as measured by the consumer prices index rose by in the year to April up from in March April s rate was the highest since January and above expectations for a more modest increase to The scale of the rise was also the largest since October at the height of the force situation in the wake of Russia s full-scale invasion of Ukraine Economists had anticipated a sizeable increase as April saw hefty annual price rises for an array of household bills as well as the impact of higher taxes on businesses and a sizeable increase in the minimum wage Inflation is widely expected to stay above for the rest of the year which could rein in expectations of further interest rate reductions from the Bank of England whose target for inflation is On Tuesday the bank s chief economist Huw Pill reported that borrowing rates have been cut too speedily in a sign that he s concerned about underlying inflation pressures Since it started cutting borrowing costs last August from the -year high of the bank has proceeded on a gradual basis by lowering its main interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point every three months Earlier this month it reduced it to Following the latest inflation update Rob Wood chief U K economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics commented that cuts on a precise quarterly schedule are far from certain Even though inflation is expected to run above the bank s target this year economists expect it to fall next year partly because of the latest commerce deal between the U S and the U K which will mean multiple of the tariffs that U S President Donald Trump had planned have been ditched Still the sharp increase in inflation is a tricky moment for the Labour Party regime which returned to power last July for the first time in years In new weeks Labour touted what it considers to be economic successes including higher than anticipated first-quarter advance and a trio of transaction deals As well as the tariff pact with the U S the administration has concluded a commerce deal with India and reset the United Kingdom s relationship with the European Union after Brexit I am disappointed with these figures because I know cost of living pressures are still weighing down on working people Treasury chief Rachel Reeves stated The main opposition Conservative Party which Labour replaced in power sought to pin the blame on Reeves decision to increase the tax burden on businesses Families are paying the price for the Labour Chancellor s choices explained Mel Stride the Tories financial market spokesman Source