UK inflation accelerated unexpectedly in February, adding to expectations that the Bank of England will raise interest rates again at its meeting on Thursday.
The annual rate of consumer price inflation rose to 10.4 per cent in February, the Office for National Statistics have released. That was up from 10.1 per cent in January and higher than the 9.9 per cent forecast by the BoE.
The largest upward contributions to the annual CPIH inflation rate in February 2023 came from housing and household services (principally from electricity, gas, and other fuels), and food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Sam Merrett, Policy Executive at HWCC, said: “This morning’s inflation figures have come as a surprise with the Bank of England forecasting lower than the 10.4% rate. In the recent spring budget, Jeremy Hunt made it his priority to tackle inflation and the unexpected figures this morning contrast with the Chancellor’s projection of inflation decreasing throughout the year.
“Businesses in Herefordshire and Worcestershire have been tackling the inflationary pressure for some time now and in our most recent Quarterly Economic Survey, 67% of businesses indicated inflation as a cause for concern to their business.
“This further highlights our calls for further support for businesses following the Spring Budget. There was no announcement on reforming business rates to allow for investment and growth and no announcement of support on energy bills.”