Customers buy flowers from stalls at the Columbia Road Flower Market in East London.
Henry Nichols | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – Data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday showed that Britain’s inflation rate rose sharply to 2.3% in October, higher than expected.
The rate hike was a sharp increase from September’s 1.7% rate and exceeded the 2.2% forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
Core inflation (excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco) was 3.3% this month, slightly higher than September’s 3.2%.
Price growth in Britain’s dominant services sector edged up to 5.0% from 4.9% in September, hitting the lowest level in more than two years.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.