UK consumer price inflation more than doubled in April. Consumer prices rose by 1.5 per cent in April, the Office for National Statistics said, following a 0.7 per cent rise in March. A hike in regulated electricity and gas bills and clothing and footwear prices made inflation push up, in company with petrol, hit by rising global oil prices. Inflation is expected to advance in the coming months.

“With inflation set to pick up further over the coming months and the economy looking poised for decent recovery from the second quarter, attention is increasingly focusing on when the Bank of England could start to tighten monetary policy rather than will the Bank provide further stimulus,” Howard Archer, an economist with forecaster EY Item Club said.

“However the Bank of England (BoE) did not appear to be in a hurry to tighten policy in the minutes of the May MPC meeting.” Core inflation, which excludes energy prices and other volatile items, rose by 1.3 per cent in the 12 months to April, the Office for National Statistics said. The BoE says inflation in Britain is heading above its 2 per cent target and will hit 2.5 per cent at the end of 2021. Wednesday’s data shows prices charged by manufacturers rose by 3.9 per cent in the year, the biggest increase in two-and-a-half years, and the prices they paid for their inputs rose by 9.9 per cent, the most since February 2017.