UK Inflation Rate Rises to 3.4% in December, Exceeding Expectations
The UK Office for National Statistics announced on January 21, 2026 (local time) that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December of last year rose by 3.4% compared to the same month a year earlier.
This figure is higher than the previous month's 3.2% and also exceeds the average expert forecast of 3.3%. It marks the first time in five months, since July of last year, that the consumer price inflation rate has increased from the previous month.
The rate of increase in service prices, which the Bank of England (BOE) closely monitors, also rose to 4.5%, up from 4.4% the previous month.
Tobacco and airfares contributed the most to last month's price increases. As items such as tobacco and airfares are highly volatile, experts believe that the pace of inflation will slow in the coming months. Andrew Bailey, Governor of the BOE, predicted that inflation would approach the target rate of 2% around April or May.
Hot Picks Today
"Stocks Are Not Taxed, but Annual Crypto Gains Over 2.5 Million Won to Be Taxed Next Year... Investors Push Back"
- "Don't Throw Away Coffee Grounds" Transformed into 'High-Grade Fuel' in Just 90 Seconds [Reading Science]
- "A Crisis for Samsung Is a Crisis for Pyeongtaek"... Pyeongtaek City Launches All-Out Emergency Response to Labor-Management Dispute
- "Groups of 5 or More Now Restricted"... Unrelenting Running Craze Leaves Citizens and Police Exhausted
- "Even With a 90 Million Won Salary and Bonuses, It Doesn’t Feel Like Much"... A Latecomer Rookie Who Beat 70 to 1 Odds [Scientists Are Disappearing] ③
There is still a prevailing expectation that the BOE will keep the key interest rate unchanged at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting scheduled for February 5.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
