Inflation (the consumer prices index (CPI)) went up to 1.9% in November, from 1.5% the previous month. It stands at its highest since May when it was 2.2%.
Although 1.9% is as close as CPI has been to the government target of 2% since it was 2.1% in November 2007, there are fears that it is about lurch upwards, possibly to 3% in January.
The rise was mainly caused by higher petrol prices, which we have all suffered in recent weeks. Last November petrol prices were down by 8.3% on October; this time prices are up by 2.3% on the previous month.
Simon Ward, chief economist at Henderson, commented: "There is a risk that sharply higher headline rates will destabilise inflationary expectations in the absence of any policy response. With fiscal plans widely judged to lack credibility, the UK can ill afford any loss of confidence in the Bank's inflation-fighting determination."
It's a worrying trend.
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