U.K. inflation jumped to 3.3% in March as the Iran war sparked a sharp increase in fuel prices, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed Wednesday.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the inflation rate to accelerate to 3.3%, up from 3% in the 12 months to February. The latest data is the first hard evidence of the Iran war’s impact on consumer prices in the U.K.
The rise in inflation was largely due to increased fuel prices, which saw their largest increase for over three years, Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, commented Wednesday.
