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In March, the annual variation of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 10.1%, just three tenths below the data reported in February and still far from the 9.8% expected by British financial institutions. It is the seventh month in a row that the UK has reported an inflation rate above double digits, as citizens fear the Bank of England will now have to raise interest rates to cool the economy.
With the data from last March, the United Kingdom is established as the only country in Western Europe with double-digit inflation that month. However, the finance minister, Jeremy Hunt, assures that it is “a common problem” that the entire region has.
The core inflation rate, which excludes volatile items such as energy and food, was unchanged at 6.2% year-on-year in March.
“It is important to say that although our core inflation is marginally higher than other countries, Germany, for example, has higher food price inflation than ours. So that this is a problem common we all face“, held hunt.
The minister announced this Wednesday, April 19, what will be the foci that his portfolio will attack to reduce inflation to the half, categorizing them as follows: removal of barriers to work, freezing of fuel service, keeping energy bills low and pursuing responsible public finances.
“When I speak to my colleagues at the International Monetary Fund, they are all very clear that the UK is on the right track to focus on reducing inflation, and if we do that, we can get through this very difficult period and make sure that we are not having the same discussion next year and that we can return to growth, which is what we want to see“Hunt stressed.
The main upward pressures came from food and non-alcoholic beverages (19.1%), recreation and culture (4.6%), and various goods and services (6.7%); while prices fell in the transport sector (0.8%), restaurants and hotels (11.3%). Data compared to the same period of 2022.
With AP and local media