Soaring gas and electricity bills pushed Britain's inflation rate up above its 2 per cent target in May for the first time in six months, official data showed today.
The Office for National Statistics said consumer prices rose 0.5 per cent on the month, taking the annual rate to 2.2 per cent from 2.0 per cent, the highest since October and compared with forecasts of 2.1 per cent.
But Bank of England Governor Mervyn King, who would have had advance warning of the figures, said late on Monday that inflation data can be volatile and higher utility bills would also have a moderating impact on consumer spending. Almost all of the jump can be accounted for by soaring energy costs pushing up household bills.
The ONS said gas bills added 0.09 percentage points to the annual rate while electricity added another 0.06 per cent. This pushed annual goods inflation up to its highest rate since January 1997.
The ONS said there was also an upward impact from food and clothing and footwear prices.