Economy – UK inflation hits 40-year high in April

First modification: 05/18/2022 – 20:11

Since 1989, when inflation records began to be carried out in the country, the British had not seen such a significant rise in their consumer price index (CPI) as that registered in the month of April 2022 when the indicator was it rose 7.5 points, on a year-on-year basis, to settle at 9%.

Although the data registered in April is below the estimates of the analysts consulted by Reuters, who forecast a rate of 9.1% at the annual level, it is two percentage points above the rate registered in March of this year.

At a monthly level, the indicator suffered a rise of 1.4 percentage points.

This figure is answered by the high prices of gas and electricity, which increased by around 54% as a higher price limit was applied. Currently, and according to the British media ‘The Guardian’, electricity is 53.5% more expensive than a year ago while the gas bill rose 95.5% in the same period.

“Inflation rose sharply in April, driven by the sharp rise in electricity and gas prices,” said Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS.

Vulnerable households, main victims of high inflation

For many citizens in the United Kingdom, the situation has become critical and they have been forced to overcome it by modifying their purchasing patterns, even reducing the amount of their meals.

“These recent drivers of inflation mean that low-income families face the most severe cost pressures, with the rate of inflation already reaching double digits,” said Jack Leslie, senior economist at the Resolution Foundation.

According to the British media ‘The Guardian’, high inflation and the shortage of qualified labor have caused the appearance of fears regarding a possible recession, for which they ask the Chancellor of the Treasury, Rishi Sunak, to offer support for homes and Business.

At first, Sunak tried to evade the government’s responsibility for high inflation, arguing that the crisis affects a large part of the world.

“I can’t pretend this will be easy. As I said to the House of Commons: there is no measure that any government can take, no law that we can pass, that can make these global forces disappear overnight. The next few months will be tough,” the foreign minister said.

Conservative MPs are expected to attend a session in which they hope to vote against an emergency budget to tackle the crisis.

Similarly, the Bank of England (BoE), since last December, has increased the interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1%, the highest level in the last 13 years. years, to control inflation

With EFE, Reuters and local media