The United Kingdom has been hit by surging inflation figures. According to data published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), the inflation rate is at a 10-year high. For November, the consumer price index, which is a key measure of inflation, climbed 5.1% month-on-month, up from 4.2% in October.
The major causes for the rise that the ONS points to for the larger than normal rate spike were increases in the price of transportation, food, clothing, and footwear.
The inflation figure has been published at a time when the Bank of England’s (BoE’s) Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet to decide if it is going to move to tighten its monetary policy. It remains uncertain if a decision will be reached to begin quantitative easing in the economy as the meeting was planned for before the emergence of the Omicron variant, hence analysts are split over what the BoE’s decision should be.
