Inflation surge hits Britain’s ailing economy

Inflation rose to 2.3 per cent in the year to October, up from 1.7 per cent in September – its lowest level since the early weeks of the first lockdown in 2021. This surge above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target was higher than economists and markets had expected. Worryingly, core inflation (which excludes more volatile goods like food and energy) has also increased slightly to 3.3 per cent – up from 3.2 per cent in September. The largest contributors to the rise in inflation were from the effects electricity and gas prices are having on household costs.

The Office for National Statistics’ Chief Economist Grant Fiztner blamed the energy price cap, saying: ‘Inflation rose this month as the increase in the energy price cap meant higher costs for gas and electricity compared with a fall at the same time last year.