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The rate of inflation in the U.K. quickened in January, holding at a three-decade high, as energy prices remain elevated and supply chains continue to struggle with the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The consumer price index–which measures what consumers pay for goods and services–increased 5.5% in January, compared with a year earlier, the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said Wednesday.
January’s figures were the highest since March 1992 and were modestly higher than the 5.4% rise that economists, surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, had been expecting. In December, consumer prices rose 5.4% year-on-year.
The core price index, which excludes volatile categories such as energy costs and food, rose 4.4% in January compared with a year earlier, greater than the 4.2% rise recorded in December and the 4.3% rise forecast by economists.
The figures come after the Bank of England earlier this month raised interest rates for the second time in as many policy meetings. The bank expects inflation to top 7% in the coming months.
Write to Will Horner at william.horner@wsj.com
