UK inflation hits decade high ahead of central bank meeting

By PAN PYLAS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Consumer prices in the United Kingdom are rising at their highest rate in over a decade as a result of soaring energy costs and blockages in the supply chain. The Office for National Statistics found Wednesday that inflation rose by 5.1% in the year to November. That’s up dramatically from October’s 4.2%. The increase was more than the 4.8% consensus of economists’ forecasts and takes inflation to its highest level since September 2011. The increase is likely to ramp up pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates Thursday. But most economists think the central bank will wait amid uncertainty about the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.