In the UK, an acceleration in the dynamics of consumer price growth was recorded. At the end of March, inflation was 0.7%. At the same time, in February, prices showed an increase of 0.4%. The indicators are calculated on an annual basis. Analysts had expected a price increase of 0.8%. Compared to the previous month, consumer prices increased by 0.3%, which coincided with the expectations of experts. The CPIH index, which takes into account the cost of British people to maintain their home, showed an increase in March to a level of 1% year-on-year.
Compared to the previous month, the price growth accelerated to 0.2%. At the end of February, the CPIH index was 0.1%. The day before, data on unemployment in the UK were released. They came as a surprise to analysts, who had predicted an increase in the indicator. However, over a 3-month period, unemployment in the country fell to 4.9% from 5% three months earlier. Despite the positive trend, the unemployment rate in the UK remains significantly higher than the figure that was observed in the country before the coronavirus crisis.