UK inflation unexpectedly rises to highest since March on oil prices

British inflation jumped unexpectedly last month to its highest rate since March, official data showed on Wednesday. Consumer price inflation rose to 1.0 per cent in July from 0.6 per cent in June, the Office for National Statistics said.

That was above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists that had pointed to an unchanged rate of 0.6 per cent. Core inflation — which excludes typically volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices — also rose to 1.8 per cent from June's 1.4 per cent.

Economists had expected the rate to fall slightly to 1.3 per cent. The Bank of England said earlier this month it expected inflation to turn briefly negative in the near term, falling to -0.3 per cent in August.