U.K. inflation eased for a second month in December, boosting confidence that the cost-of-living crisis has peaked.
Consumer prices rose 10.5% in the year through December, down from 10.7% the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. Inflation peaked at a 41-year high of 11.1% in October.
While the drop is welcome, inflation is still running at levels last seen in the early 1980s. U.K. prices are also rising faster than in other major industrialized nations. Inflation slowed to 6.5% last month in the U.S. and 9.2% in the 20 countries that use the euro.
Inflation soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine fueled sharp increases in food and energy prices, eroding savings and living standards. That has triggered a wave of strikes across Britain as nurses, train drivers, border guards and teachers demand pay increases and the government tries to prevent higher wages from triggering a second round of domestically driven inflation that could be more difficult to reverse.
"High inflation is a nightmare for family budgets, destroys business investment and leads to strike action, so however tough, we need to stick to our plan to bring it down," U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt said. "While any fall in inflation is welcome, we have a plan to go further and halve inflation this year, reduce debt and grow the economy -- but it is vital that we take the difficult decisions needed and see the plan through."
The inflation rate fell in December as the price of motor vehicle fuels rose more slowly than in previous months. The cost of gasoline and diesel increased 11.5% in the 12 months through December, down from 17.2% the previous month.
But that gave little relief to beleaguered British consumers, who saw food price inflation accelerate for a 17th consecutive month. Food costs soared 16.9% in December, compared with 16.5% in November.
The price of eating out also rose, with costs for visiting a restaurant or hotel jumping 11.4% in December, up from 10.2% in November.
Inflation is expected to slow in the coming months as last year's surge in energy prices begins to drop out of the annual inflation figures.
Consumers are also being helped by a mild winter in Europe, which has reduced demand for heating oil and natural gas and cut prices. Wholesale natural gas prices, which soared tenfold during the first six months of the war in Ukraine, have fallen more than 60% from their August peak.
With inflation beginning to moderate, attention is now shifting to how quickly it will return to the Bank of England's 2% target.
Economists are particularly focused on the cost of services such as hotels and restaurants, as businesses pass on higher costs to consumers.
Deutsche Bank expects the U.K. inflation rate to drop by 50% this year and reach the central bank's target around the middle of 2024.
"But inflation persistence will, we think, be the key theme for the year as central banks across the world tilt their focus more fully to core inflation, and in particular services prices," the bank said before the December inflation figure was released.
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Bruzzese came down with COVID-19 in February 2023, and received her injection at the end of March. “Being able to recognize smells is something we take for granted, until you can’t.â€
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New data shows the automated speed enforcement camera on King Edward Avenue, between Bolton Street and St. Patrick Street, issued 6,337 speeding tickets in August, the highest number of tickets issued by Ottawa's 40 photo radar cameras.
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A rural Colorado county courthouse beefed up security Friday after threats were made against staff and a judge who sentenced former county clerk Tina Peters to nearly nine years behind bars for her role in a data breach scheme catalyzed by the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
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The U.S. and British militaries struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen on Friday, going after weapons systems, bases and other equipment belonging to the Iranian-backed rebels, U.S. officials confirmed.
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Bruzzese came down with COVID-19 in February 2023, and received her injection at the end of March. “Being able to recognize smells is something we take for granted, until you can’t.â€
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Bruzzese came down with COVID-19 in February 2023, and received her injection at the end of March. “Being able to recognize smells is something we take for granted, until you can’t.â€
In case you missed it, Â鶹´«Ã½ London has gathered all of the top local stories from this week into one video for your convenience.
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We haven't heard the candidates talk much about education during B.C.'s 2024 election campaign, but the teachers' union is trying to put the spotlight on that issue.
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To enhance inclusivity at Lethbridge Polytechnic, the institution has launched a new accessibility micro-credential.
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A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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