Canada Global (Web News) British consumer price inflation unexpectedly increased to 10.4% percent in February from 10.1 percent in January, according to data released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.
The annual CPI rate was expected to fall to 9.9 percent in January, further edging away from the 41-year peak of 11.1 percent reached in October, but still reducing the purchasing power of employees whose wages are rising more slowly.
On Thursday, the Bank of England is expected to reveal if interest rates have been increased for the eleventh meeting in a row.
In contrast to expectations for a decrease to 5.7%, the BoE closely monitors Core CPI, which increased to 6.2 percent from 5.8 in January.
The services sector’s annual inflation rate, which the majority of policymakers believe to be an accurate indicator of the underlying pricing pressures in the economy, increased from 6.0 percent in January to 6.6 percent in February.
