UK inflation surges to new 40-year high of 9.4%
LONDON – Inflation in the United Kingdom has accelerated to a new 40-year high, driven by rising food and fuel prices that are contributing to a cost-of-living crisis.
Consumer prices rose 9.4% this year through June, up from 9.1% the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. The new figure is the highest since 1982, when inflation peaked at 11%.
Russia's war in Ukraine has boosted food and energy prices around the world, with shipments of oil, natural gas, grain and cooking oil disrupted. That has added to rising prices that began last year as the global economy started to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said Tuesday that the bank is likely to consider raising interest rates by half a percentage point at its next...