Official data showed that Britain’s annual inflation rate surged more than expected in April as energy and water bills rose sharply.
The Consumer Prices Index soared to 3.5 per cent last month, up from 2.6 per cent in March, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement on Wednesday.
Analysts’ consensus forecast had been for a jump to 3.3 per cent.
At 3.5 per cent, the headline rate was the highest since the beginning of 2024, the ONS noted.
“I am disappointed with these figures because I know the cost-of-living pressures are still weighing down on working people,” Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said in a statement.
UK regulators allowed private companies to hike household bills from April, taking into account movements in oil and gas markets and indebted water providers.
“Significant increases in household bills caused inflation to climb steeply,” ONS acting director general, Grant Fitzner, said in a statement.
“Gas and electricity bills rose… compared with sharp falls at the same time last year.”
He noted that “water and sewerage bills also rose strongly… as did vehicle excise duty, which all pushed the headline rate up to its highest level since the beginning of last year”.
Energy bills are expected to drop from July, however, following recent heavy falls in oil prices in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz, according to analysts.
AFP
