UK inflation rose to a four-year high last month with a surge above the Bank of England's 2.5pc inflation target The government's preferred measure of inflation, RPI-X (retail prices excluding mortgage interest payments) jumped 0.2pc in November from October and was up 2.8pc on a year-on-year basis, National Statistics said this morning. Analysts had expected underlying inflation to remain at the 2.3pc recorded in October
The higher than expected figure means it is less likely that the Bank of England's monetary policy committee will lower interest rates. Despite weakness in some sectors of the economy, the bank has held off on cutting rates this year on concern over fuelling further inflation in the housing market. The most recent figures from the Halifax revealed that annual inflation in the house market was running at a rate of 29.2pc in November, although this was down from the 30.6pc recorded in October. The headline RPI measure was also slightly higher than expectations, rising 0.2pc in November for a 2.6pc year-on-year increase, beating the 2.2pc reading expected//www.fxcentre.com