By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- Inflation in Britain rose to a new 40-year high of 9.1% in May, according to the Office for National Statistics, fuelled by a jump in costs for food and energy.
The increase in the U.K.'s Consumer Price Index was in line with estimates, and adds pressure on the Bank of England as it looks to stem a cost of living crisis in the country.
On a month-to-month basis, prices moved higher by 0.7%.
The ONS said the largest contributor to inflation in May came from soaring costs for foods, particularly bread, cereal, and meat. Rising prices for electricity, gas, and other fuels also put upward pressure on inflation.
Meanwhile, the 12-month rate for motor fuel prices was 32.8% - the largest jump since numbers in this category were first compiled in 1989.
Concerns have mounted recently that Britain may be facing these higher prices throughout the rest of the year, with the BoE predicting that inflation could rise to more than 11% in October. Last week, the central bank increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to combat "robust cost and price pressures," adding that it will "act forcefully" in the future in response to soaring inflation.
"Overall still a discouraging report but I am not sure it tells us a lot about [the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee] action ahead of their August meeting," said Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, in a tweet. "Having set threshold for faster pace of tightening (+50bp) should inflation picture deteriorate, I would say [...] last week's data has been finely balanced."