BUSINESS LIVE: Inflation reaches highest in a decade

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BUSINESS CLOSE: Inflation reaches 4.2%, the highest in a decade; BoE under pressure to act on interest rates; Lidl is UK’s top-paying supermarket

By Jane Denton For Thisismoney and Mike Sheen For This Is Money and Harry Wise For This Is Money

Published: | Updated:


The FTSE 100 closed down 35.77 points at 7291.20 and the pound was at $1.35 against the dollar.

The Consumer Prices Index rose by 4.2 per cent in the year to October 2021, up from 3.1 per cent in September, new official figures revealed this morning.

This is the highest 12-month inflation rate since November 2011, when the CPI annual inflation rate was 4.8 per cent. It is also well above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target.

On the back of today’s inflation data, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, led by Andrew Bailey, will be under pressure to act on interest rates and lift them from the record low level of 0.1 per cent. 

Soaring fuel and energy costs are the key drivers behind the latest surge in inflation, the ONS said. The figures revealed that the 12 per cent hike in the energy price cap from 1 October on household bills had pushed up inflation, together with rising education, transport and clothing costs.

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