UK Inflation Soars to 40-year High of 9.1% in May 2022

UK Inflation Soars to 40-year High of 9.1% in May 2022

Felix Yim 22/06/2022
UK Inflation Soars to 40-year High of 9.1% in May 2022

Britain's inflation reaches 9.1%, it's the highest level since 1982.

Prices are continuing to increase at their fastest rate for 40 years as food, energy and fuel costs continue to soar.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK inflation, the rate at which prices rise, edged up to 9.1% in the 12 months to May, from 9% in April 2022.

Annual_Inflation.png

The Bank of England (BoE) expects inflation to reach 11% by the end of this year.

Inflation is the pace at which prices are rising. For example, if a bottle of water costs £1 and that rises by 5p compared with a year earlier, then water inflation is 5%.

Record prices for petrol and diesel also drove inflation higher as motor fuels jumped by nearly a third over the past year.

The ONS argues that rising prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages helped fuel inflation in May, with the biggest cost increases seen in bread, cereals and meat.

Russia's war in Ukraine has severely restricted wheat and maize supplies from two of the world's biggest exporters.

Ukraine is also a major producer of sunflower oil, leading to the costs of alternatives also climbing.

People are putting less in their baskets, switching to budget ranges and are worried about the future.

The euro and sterling fell on Wednesday as investors turned to the safe haven dollar as part of a move away from riskier assets which also saw a stock market rally fizzle out, and after data showed British consumer price inflation hit a new 40-year high.

According to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, the UK government is using all the tools at their disposal to bring inflation down and combat rising prices.

Household_Inflation.png

One way to try to control how fast prices are rising is to raise interest rates. This increases the cost of borrowing and encourages people to borrow and spend less, and save more.

Meanwhile, Network Rail and the UK government are at loggerheads with rail unions in a bitter dispute over pay and conditions. This is the biggest train strikes since the 1980s. Rail workers have been offered a pay rise of just 2%.

The UK might be stuck with searing inflation for years because of Brexit, cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine. 

Share this article

Leave your comments

Post comment as a guest

0
terms and condition.
  • No comments found

Share this article

Felix Yim

Tech Expert

Felix is the founder of Society of Speed, an automotive journal covering the unique lifestyle of supercar owners. Alongside automotive journalism, Felix recently graduated from university with a finance degree and enjoys helping students and other young founders grow their projects. 

   
Save
Cookies user prefences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Read more
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline