UK Inflation Tops 10%, With Food Prices Soaring

UK inflation stayed above 10% in March, much higher than inflation in the US and Europe. Food prices climbed sharply, with bread prices rising at a record pace.

Consumer prices in the third month of the year climbed 10.1% compared to a year ago. This reading is only slightly down from February’s figure of 10.4%.

The price of motor fuels fell, but that relief was offset by a marked jump in food prices, which climbed 19.2% through the year to March — a pace not seen in over four decades. The price of bread was particularly painful, shooting up by 19.4% and shattering all records for the highest annual rate of inflation since tracking began in 1989.

Meanwhile, the high prices of fruit, vegetables and sugar were as result of poor harvests in Europe and North Africa, coupled with the weak pound making importing more expensive.

Overall, inflation in the US and Europe was less remarkable. US prices rose 5% year-on-year in March. In the Eurozone, annual inflation fell to 6.9%.

Inflation in the UK has risen further and stayed higher than elsewhere. Analysts note that the UK has had to live with the worst of both worlds – a massive energy shock and labor shortages that are even worse than those in the US.

The UK is also a net importer of energy, unlike the US, making it more reliant on external gas supplies than its European neighbors, and leaving it exposed to price fluctuations because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.