Chris J Ratcliffe | Getty Images
Two men dressed as Santa Claus walk amongst shoppers on Oxford Street on December 9, 2017 in London, England.
Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released Tuesday revealed U.K. inflation at 3.1 percent, the highest level since March 2012.
This puts consumer prices for November up 0.1 percent from October’s consumer price index (CPI) rate of 3 percent, which was itself a five-and-a-half year high.
The new figures are in line with the Bank of England’s expectations that inflation would peak at just over 3.0 percent before the end of this year.
“It would be helpful for economic growth going forward if inflation is close to peaking,” Derek Halpenny, European head of global markets research at MUFG, said in an email note.
The spike in inflation responds in part to a fall in the pound over several months of tumultuous Brexit talks.
While the Bank of England raised interest rates in November over inflation concerns, inflation is set to stay above the target 2 percent rate throughout 2018.
Looking ahead, the MPC’s policy announcement during a meeting Thursday is expected to keep central bank interest rates unchanged, but the remaining question is whether it will suggest further hikes in the near future.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back later for more.
