Inflation in the UK reached a record 40-year high of 9.1% in May, as rising food and energy prices continue to worsen the country’s cost of living crisis.
The latest consumer price index, released on Wednesday, was in line with expectations from economists in a Reuters poll.
Consumer prices rose 0.7% monthly in May, somewhat higher than the 0.6% increase economists had predicted, but it was far lower than April’s 2.5% monthly increase, showing inflation is slowing.
The UK’s Office of National Statistics estimated that inflation “would last have been higher around 1982, where estimates range from nearly 11% in January down to approximately 6.5% in December.”
Housing and household services, especially electricity, gas, and other fuels, and transportation were the major contributors to the upward trend in the inflation rate.
