LONDON (Reuters) - Inflation jumped to a five-month high in October, driven by higher university fees and food prices, official data showed on Tuesday, just a day before the Bank of England publishes fresh economic forecasts.
Annual consumer price inflation surged to 2.7 percent from 2.2 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics said, raising the chance the BoE will have to increase its short-term inflation forecast on Wednesday.
October's figure was the highest since May, and well above economists' average forecast of an increase to 2.3 percent.
Inflation hit its lowest level since November 2009 in September. The central bank had already expected the decline to stall, and currently does not forecast inflation will drop below its 2 percent target until the second half of 2013.
Last week the central bank decided not to extend its 375 billion pound programme of bond purchases as Britain's economy moved out of recession, though underlying growth remains weak.
Some central bankers have voiced inflation concerns, as well as doubts about whether further purchases of government debt can boost growth at a time when major headwinds include ongoing worries about the euro zone and a lack of bank credit.
The main driver for October's rise in inflation was an increase in maximum university tuition fees to 9,000 pounds a year from just over 3,000 pounds previously, adding 0.3 percentage points to the inflation rate.
Also pushing up inflation were higher food prices, in part due to bad weather raising the cost of potatoes, as well as higher transport costs due to higher second-hand car prices.
Planned rises in gas and electricity prices later this year are likely to push up inflation in future months.
On Wednesday, the BoE will publish a quarterly update to its forecasts. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the BoE to predict inflation at 1.8 percent and growth at 2.0 percent in two years time -- close to previous estimates.
Separate figures published by the ONS on Tuesday showed that factory gate inflation held steady at 2.5 percent, but input cost inflation was higher than expected, showing an annual rise of 0.1 percent compared to an expected 0.5 percent decline.
House price data released alongside these figures showed property prices were 1.7 percent up on the year in September.
(Reporting by David Milliken and Sven Egenter)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/university-fees-push-inflation-five-month-high-october-093314798--finance.html
Colorado shootings dark knight rises Aurora shooting James Eagan Holmes jeremy lin Sage Stallone Mermaid Body Found
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন