The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation rate was 2.8% in November 2017, unchanged from October 2017. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 3.1% in November 2017, up from 3.0% in October 2017; it was last higher in March 2012. The largest upward contribution to change in both the CPIH and CPI rates came from air fares which fell between October and November but by less than a year ago. Rising prices for a range of recreational and cultural goods and services, most notably computer games, also had an upward effect. Falling prices in the miscellaneous ... (full story)

British inflation unexpectedly rose to its highest level in nearly six years in November, tightening the post-Brexit vote squeeze on households whose spending is the main driver of the country’s economy. Consumer price inflation hit an annual rate of 3.1 percent in November, pushed up by airfares, computer games and the price of chocolate as food costs reflected the impact of the pound’s plunge after last year’s vote to leave the European Union. That was up from 3.0 percent in October and above economists’ average expectation in a Reuters poll for another 3.0 percent rise. There were also signs that factories were ... (full story)