United Kingdom’s inflation rate rises at highest pace in three decades

United Kingdom‘s Office for National Statistics announced on Wednesday that the country’s inflation has risen at the fastest pace in three decades. The consumer price hike was reportedly fueled by household energy and motor fuels prices.

In March this year, the inflation-indicating statistics jumped to 7% in 12 months. The increase registered the highest annual rate recorded in the county since March 1992, the statistics agency reported. 

Also Read: Federal Reserve likely to take aggressive action to curb inflation in US

Top economists of the country suggest that a significant drop in living standards is around the corner as food prices, energy costs and mounting taxes have overshadowed rising wages, as per Associated Press.

Disposable household incomes, adjusted for inflation, are expected to drop by 2.2% this year, according to the government’s independent budget adviser.

Household natural gas prices jumped 28.3% over the last year, and electricity prices rose 19.2% as the global economy recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing worldwide demand for energy, Associated Press reported.

Prices will continue to rise after Britain’s energy regulator authorized a 54% increase in gas and electricity bills for millions of households that took effect in April.

United Kingdom’s Office for National Statistics further announced that registered the biggest increase in gasoline and fuel prices since January 1989. The hike averaged nearly 30% over the past year.

Similar inflation worries have been seen in the United States, where consumer prices increased by 8.5% in March this year, the Department of Labor said.

Also Read: US added 431,000 jobs in March, reducing unemployment rate to 3.6%

The March inflation numbers were the first to fully capture the surge in gasoline prices that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Moscow’s attacks have triggered far-reaching Western sanctions against the Russian economy and disrupted food and energy markets. According to media reports citing the AAA, the average price of a gallon of gasoline — $4.10 — is up 43% from a year ago, though it’s dipped in the past couple of weeks.