UK inflation rate soars to decade high in November

2021-12-15 14:36:03 GMT2021-12-15 22:36:03(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

LONDON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Britain's Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate soared to 5.1 percent in November, hitting the highest level since September 2011, the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Wednesday.

The reading in November was up from 4.2 percent in October, far above the 2 percent target for inflations set by the Bank of England, Britain's central bank.

Meanwhile, the CPI including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation rate rose by 4.6 percent in November, up from 3.8 percent in the 12 months to October, said the ONS.

The largest upward contributions to the inflation rate came from transport, principally from motor fuels and second-hand cars, and housing and household services, added the ONS.

Amid surging inflation and rising Omicron cases, market analysts have kept their eyes on if the Bank of England will raise interest rates soon.

"Inflation is close to being further above the target than at any point since the UK started targeting inflation in October 1992," said Paul Dales, an economist at the Capital Economics UK, a London-based economic research consultancy.

"This makes tomorrow's interest rate decision look closer, but on balance we think the Bank of England is more likely to keep rates at 0.10 percent until it learns more about the Omicron situation," Dales added.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), one of Britain's leading economics consultancies, quoting its economist Karl Thompson, tweeted that "UK CPI inflation reached a 10-year high in November, at 5.1 percent. An acceleration to above 5.2 percent in the coming months will instead see 30-year comparisons being made."

"Yet, amid Omicron concerns, the BoE is expected to leave its base rate unchanged tomorrow," it said.

The Bank of England has made two emergency cuts of base rate from 0.75 percent to 0.1 percent to support businesses and households since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met his cabinet virtually on Tuesday morning and told his top team that "a huge spike of Omicron" is coming.

England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty updated the cabinet on the latest evidence on the Omicron variant, confirming that the doubling time still appeared to be around two to three days. Whitty also said that a "significant increase in hospitalizations" from Omicron is expected, according to Sky News.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. Enditem

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