Soaring Energy bills push UK inflation up

Soaring energy bills and fuel prices have pushed Britain’s inflation rate to a nine-month high in February, a recent study reveals.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), energy bills and fuel costs pushed Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation to 2.8 percent in February, up from 2.7 percent in May last year.

Experts said latest hikes in domestic energy prices and a weak pound were the main factors behind the increase, which came a day ahead of the British Chancellor Gorge Osborne’s budget.

“Higher imported inflation is likely to be a significant influence, and the February producer price data showed a clear build-up of pipeline pricing pressures… The recent fall in sterling fed through into higher prices of imported materials, a trend that looks set to continue,” Barclays’ chief UK economist, Simon Hayes said.

Earlier in February, British pound slid against dollar to $1.5073, its lowest level since summer 2010, after Credit ratings agency Moody’s downgraded the British government’s bond rating from the top AAA to AA1 last week due to the country’s rising debt and slowing growth.