LONDON: British annual inflation has hit a fresh 40-year high, official data showed Wednesday, further eroding workers’ wages and pressuring the Bank of England to keep on raising interest rates.
The rate edged higher to 9.1% in May from 9.0% in April, remaining at the highest level since 1982, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
UK inflation is set to top 11% before the end of the year according to the Bank of England, fuelled by soaring energy prices that have raised the prospect of a global recession.
UK inflation increased in May on “continued steep food price rises and record high petrol prices”, said ONS chief economist Grant…
