UK Inflation Skyrockets to 10.4% Due to Soaring Food Prices

UK inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February, reversing a recent downward trend and potentially undermining expectations that the Bank of England was close to halting interest rate increases. The swing higher in inflation will come as an unwelcome intensification of Britain’s cost-of-living crisis. High household energy bills, wage growth that has lagged far behind inflation, and more expensive food and other essential items have contributed to a steep decline in living standards. The Bank of England has raised rates by nearly 4 percentage points in an effort to stop high inflation becoming embedded in the economy.