JUST IN: UK inflation soars to thirty-year high

Britain’s annual inflation rate rose to 6.2% in February and now stands at the highest it’s been in approximately 30 years.

As per a report released by the Office for National Statistics, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 6.2% in the 12 months to February 2022 – up from 5.5% in January.

On a month-to-month basis, this translates to the CPI rising by 0.8% in February 2022, compared with a rise of 0.1% in February 2021.

“This was the largest monthly CPI increase between January and February since 2009,” the UK office of National Statistics said.

Further increases in the inflation rate are expected, largely due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggering a surge in motoring costs.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) said it expected inflation to be about 8% in April, “almost a percentage point more than it forecast last month and four times its 2% target”, Reuters reported.

This could likely result in a spike in energy bills, also due to the Russio-Ukraine conflict, which will put strain on British households.

Soaring energy bills, driven up by the conflict in Ukraine, meant the pressure on British household budgets was likely to be much bigger than the record 30-year squeeze, which the BoE predicted last month.

“The Committee judged that some further modest tightening might be appropriate in the coming months, but there were risks on both sides of that judgement depending on how medium-term prospects evolved,” the BoE said.

South Africa’s inflation rate report will be released today and is expected to reach 5.8%, which is still within the SA Reserve Bank’s target range.