Britain’s inflation rate held steady in May, frustrating expectations that price increases would slow down, according to data released Wednesday, the day before the country’s central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates again.
Consumer prices rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier, the same as in April, the Office for National Statistics said.
The data is likely to compound concerns that Britain’s cost-of-living crisis may intensify in the coming months as mortgage holders confront the burden of higher interest rates that are being pushed through to tackle inflation.
The Bank of England on Thursday is expected to lift interest rates for a 13th consecutive time, to 4.75 percent, the highest since early 2008, to address stubbornly strong inflation pressures.
Services inflation, an indicator that is closely watched by policymakers, climbed to 7.4 percent, from 6.9 percent in April.
Organizations:
National Statistics, Bank of England