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UK inflation jumped to 7%, reaching a fresh 30-year high after fuel prices rose, intensifying pressure on the Bank of England to hike rates again.
Source: Office for National Statistics
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The surge in consumer prices was up from a yearly rate of 6.2% in February and ten times the 0.7% posted in March last year.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist ONS, stated that the rise in inflation was broad-based and added that among the largest increases were petrol costs, with prices mostly recorded before the cut in fuel duty.
Core inflation, excluding food and energy prices, rose to 5.7% in March, an increase of 0.9% in the same month last year and above analysts’ estimates.
Producer prices also rose 11.9% from a year ago, the most since 2008. Raw materials costs increased by 19.2%, the biggest surge since 1997.
The price of goods leaving UK factories has continued to surge, with metal and transport products both at record highs and food hitting its highest rate for more than a decade.
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