UK inflation surges to new 40-year high of 9.4%
Associated PressLONDON — Inflation in the United Kingdom has accelerated to a new 40-year high, driven by rising food and fuel prices that are contributing to a cost-of-living crisis. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said Tuesday that the bank is likely to consider raising interest rates by half a percentage point at its next meeting to help control inflation. “Here, I would pick out the risks from domestic price and wage setting, and this explains why at the … last meeting we adopted language which made clear that if we see signs of greater persistence of inflation, and price and wage setting would be such signs, we will have to act forcefully.” The biggest contributor to inflation is the soaring cost of gasoline and diesel fuel, with motor fuel prices jumping 42.3% in the past year. Consumer prices are soaring worldwide, with U.S. inflation jumping to a new four-decade high in June, at 9.1%, while the 19 countries that use the euro saw it reach 8.6% last month.