UK inflation rises to near 30-year high
Britons are beginning to feel the squeeze on living standards.
New figures Wednesday (January 19) showed inflation jumping to 5.4% in December - its highest in nearly 30 years.
Prices for food, hospitality and household goods were the main factors.
Fuel prices, which were the key driver in previous months, remained at their recent highs.
Now all eyes will be on the Bank of England.
The soaring cost of living is putting pressure on the BoE to raise its main interest rate again.
Last month it became the first major central bank to tighten policy since the start of the global health crises.
Interest rates rose to 0.25% in December, with financial markets pricing in a more than 90% chance that interest rates will increase to 0.5% in February.
And further pressure is expected on inflation in April, when a cap on energy prices will go up and household energy bills could rise by as much as 50%.
Many economists now think prices rises could hit 7%.
And it's all a mounting problem for the government, which faces growing calls to offset the rise in energy bills.
