15-01-2008
New data highlights rise in inflation
News by Adfero for Simply Business - independent providers of business insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
Despite annual inflation levels remaining static at 2.1 per cent, levels for December increased significantly.
Statistical data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that over the course of December, the rate of inflation increased by 0.6 per cent.
Last month's inflation levels rose at a rate not seen since December 2006.
"We could quite easily see headline inflation push above 2.5 per cent in the next few months, which has potential to constrain the extent to which the Bank can cut rates in response to economic weakness," said James Knightley, a representative at ING.
The ONS has published its data using the consumer price index, a way of measuring inflation that takes into consideration the average cost of goods and services purchased by consumer households.
The Bank of England will publish fresh inflation rate data on February 12th.
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