Prices in Britain edged up 9.1 percent in May from a year earlier. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 9.1% in the 12 months to May 2022, up from 9.0% in April. This is the highest CPI 12-month inflation rate in the National Statistic series, which began in January 1997. The UK government has warned against employers handing out big increases in salaries over fears of a 1970s-style “inflationary spiral”, where prices continued to rise as wages went up.
The inflation rate was pushed to a fresh 40-year high, the nation’s statistics agency said on Wednesday, by rising food prices in particular. In Britain, a cost of living crisis has intensified as wage growth hasn’t kept up with rising prices. Pandemic-related supply chain disruptions and the war in Ukraine have caused the price of essentials such as food and fuel to soar, squeezing household budgets.
Currently, UK inflation is at the highest level since March 1982, when it also stood at 9.1% and the Bank of England has warned it will reach 11% this year. In May, bread, cereal, and meat prices were 10 percent higher than a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.
