15-01-2008
Factory gate inflation hits new high
News by Adfero for Simply Business - independent providers of business insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
UK factory gate inflation levels hit a new high during the final month of 2007.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that over the course of December 2007, factory gate inflation reached a level not seen for 16 years.
"We think that price pressures could be an important influence on the [monetary policy committee's] decision-making this year, potentially limiting the extent to which the Bank can, and will, cut interest rates to shore up economic growth," said George Buckley, an economist at Deutsche Bank.
ONS figures show that, in addition to output prices increasing at a rate of 0.5 per cent, December saw the input prices of producers rise by the same amount.
In related economic news, with interest rates currently at 5.5 per cent, data released by the Bank of England shows inflation to be currently at a rate of 2.1 per cent.
More new stories today:
Employment candidate questions placed under spotlight
Tesco reports positive Christmas sales
Lenders impose constraints on LTV
New data highlights rise in inflation
Report shows growth in IT costs at SMEs