Inflation in the United Kingdom has hit 5.5 percent, the highest level in 30 years

The higher-than-expected outcome has stoked optimism that the Bank of England may boost interest rates again next month.

Shoppers in Walthamstow, East London, visiting a supermarket. Inflation in the United Kingdom is not projected to peak until the spring.

Inflation in the United Kingdom surged in January, with prices growing at their highest rate in three decades, prompting worries of a heavy strain on family budgets just a day after other figures indicated wage growth wasn’t keeping pace with expenses.

The Consumer Prices Index jumped 5.5 percent from a year earlier, the largest since March 1992 and slightly higher than the 5.4 percent rise in December, according to the Office for National Statistics. Higher energy and food expenses offset declines in transportation and clothing, pushing it somewhat higher than experts surveyed by Bloomberg had projected.

The rate of inflation is anticipated to continue to climb. The Bank of England anticipates that the rate will surge past 7% in the spring, when the government’s energy bill price cap is raised, and then stay above 5% for the rest of the year. The central bank has already boosted interest rates twice in the previous two months, and higher-than-expected inflation numbers are increasing speculation that it may do so again next month.

In emailed comments, Ambrose Crofton, a strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said the inflation data released on Wednesday “serves to underscore a recent global trend — higher and more persistent inflation has caught central banks off guard and opened the door to more interest rate hikes this year.”

Prices in the United States are growing at their fastest pace in 40 years, while annual inflation in the eurozone rose to 5.1 percent in January, the highest level since the currency’s founding.

Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, stated earlier this month that the interest rate rises were essential to bring inflation back to the bank’s aim of 2%. However, the broader economic outlook was worsening. According to the bank, the economy would grow more slowly as increasing inflation squeezes incomes and diminishes consumer spending, which is frequently a vital engine of economic progress.

Salary reduction has already started. Despite the fact that employers are paying greater rates to fill employment, pay excluding incentives declined 0.8 percent in the last quarter of 2021 when inflation was included in, the statistics office revealed. The government has been condemned for not doing more to aid low-income individuals. The majority of British homes are anticipated to get some respite from looming energy bill hikes, however this relief will only cover a percentage of the rise. Benefits are set to rise by around 3% in April, which is less than half of the inflation rate projected at the time.

According to the British Chambers of Commerce, companies also need greater aid to battle inflation, notably as a consequence of increased energy prices. According to Suren Thiru, head of economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, “increasing inflation is expected to be a severe drag on economic activity in the United Kingdom this year, eroding consumer spending power and damaging firms’ finances and capacity to invest.”