Inflation has risen to its highest level in 40 years, especially due to rising food prices, according to the National Statistics Bureau. In the UK, the cost of living crisis is exacerbated as wage growth has not kept pace with rising prices. The pandemic-related supply chain turmoil and the war in Ukraine have put pressure on households by raising prices for essentials such as food and fuel. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, prices for bread, cereals and meat in May were 10% higher than they were a year ago.
Britons are still facing rapidly rising prices over the months. Inflation is not expected to peak until it reaches 11% in October, when household electricity and gas caps are reset again. This month, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts that UK inflation will average 8.8% this year, compared to about 7% in the US and Eurozone.
To ease inflation, the Bank of England raised interest rates to 1.25%. This is the highest since 2009. Last week, the central bank said it would “act strongly” against sustained inflationary pressures. Policy makers have expressed concern that above-average price increases are spreading to more commodities and services, indicating that inflation is no longer just being imported into the country through energy and commodity prices. increase.
Instead, inflation seems to be driven more and more by companies raising prices to cover their costs and wages and paying bonuses to attract workers in the tough labor market. The price of a product sold by a British manufacturer. Output producer price inflationAccording to the Statistics Bureau, the rate of increase in May was 15.7% year-on-year, the highest since 1977. This is mainly due to rising food prices.
Income pressure has forced the government to provide assistance to households through direct payments and reduced energy prices. But inflation-adjusted average wages have fallen the most in more than a decade, threatening to leave workers in a variety of industries, including teachers and workers in national health services, so the government is on the lookout for a summer strike. Facing work. Next week Criminal defense lawyer strikes Over-reduction to legal aid.
