[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Choi] The consumer price inflation rate in the UK showed a decline for two consecutive months due to falling gasoline prices.
On the 18th (local time), the UK Office for National Statistics announced that the inflation rate for December last year was 10.5% annually. The inflation rate peaked at 11.1% in October last year, the highest in 41 years, then fell to 10.7% in November, marking a decline for two consecutive months.
The Office for National Statistics analyzed that while gasoline prices contributed to lowering the inflation rate, food prices surged by 16.8%, and airfares and accommodation costs also rose significantly. Although the inflation rate decreased last month, the decline was not large, and the level remains very high, with prices rising broadly across items, which should be noted.
The core inflation rate, excluding the highly volatile energy and food prices, remained at 6.3%, unchanged from the previous month.
The UK's inflation rate is far above the Bank of England (BOE), the central bank's target of 2%. The BOE expects the inflation rate to stay above 10% in the first quarter of this year before sharply dropping from mid-year.
In the financial market, it is anticipated that the BOE will raise the base interest rate by 0.5 percentage points to 4.0% on February 2nd to curb inflation. This would mark the 10th consecutive increase since December 2021.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
