20.01.202106:42:00UTC+00UK Consumer Price Inflation Accelerates In December

UK consumer price inflation accelerated more than expected in December, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.

Inflation doubled to 0.6 percent from 0.3 percent in November. The rate was above economists' forecast of 0.5 percent.

Month-on-month, consumer prices advanced 0.3 percent, reversing a 0.1 percent drop in November. Prices were forecast to rise 0.2 percent.

Excluding energy, food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, core inflation increased to 1.4 percent from 1.1 percent in November. Core inflation was seen rising to 1.3 percent.

Another report from the ONS showed that output prices dropped for the tenth consecutive month in December. However, the pace of decrease was slowest since March 2020.

Output prices fell 0.4 percent annually, following a 0.6 percent drop logged a month ago. On a monthly basis, output price inflation held steady at 0.3 percent.

Economists had forecast output prices to fall 0.6 percent on year but to rise 0.2 percent on month in December.

At the same time, input price inflation turned positive for the first time since August 2019. Input prices rose 0.2 percent from last year, reversing a 0.3 percent fall in November. But the rate was below economists' forecast of +1 percent.

On month, input prices gained 0.8 percent, faster than the 0.4 percent increase in November. Economists had forecast prices to climb 0.7 percent.