Shafaqna English– A substantial surge in the cost of heating and powering homes across Britain served as the primary catalyst for inflation climbing to a four-month peak in July, a development that fell perfectly in line with market consensus.
Yet this is unlikely to be the end of the story: with the conflict in Iran dragging on indefinitely and geopolitical tensions showing no sign of easing, economists warn that consumer prices could accelerate further, particularly as winter approaches and energy demand typically intensifies.
Data published by the UK’s statistics authority on Wednesday showed that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 2.9% on an annual basis in July, up from 2.6% in June—which itself represented a trough not seen since early last year.
The primary factor behind this upturn was a 13% hike in the government-sanctioned energy price cap, which came into force last month and allowed utility providers to pass on higher wholesale costs directly to millions of households, thereby exerting an immediate and measurable impact on the overall inflation figure.
Source: Reuters