UK inflation returns above 10% due to soaring food prices

LONDON: British inflation jumped back above 10 per cent in September on soaring food prices, official data showed Wednesday (Oct 19), with the country gripped by a cost-of-living crisis.

The Consumer Prices Index accelerated to 10.1 per cent on an annual basis, up from 9.9 per cent in August, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

The September rate matched the level in July and is the highest in 40 years as a result also of sky-high energy bills.

"I understand that families across the country are struggling with rising prices and higher energy bills," Britain's new finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in a separate statement.

"This government will prioritise help for the most vulnerable while delivering wider economic stability and driving long-term growth that will help everyone."

The government has been rocked by chaos in markets in the wake of a budget that pledged uncosted tax cuts.

The majority of those measures have since been reversed, leaving Prime Minister Liz Truss fighting to save her job.

Following widespread criticism over the budget, Truss sacked Hunt's predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng, after less than six weeks in the role.

Analysts said Wednesday's data would put pressure on the Bank of England to keep raising its main interest rate by sizeable amounts.

Capital Economics noted that the BoE could hike its rate by as much as one percentage point to 3.25 per cent at its next meeting in November.