Britain’s annual inflation rate last month surged to a 40-year high on rocketing energy costs, official data showed yesterday, sparking opposition calls for the government to announce an emergency budget to combat a cost-of-living crisis.
The consumer price index climbed 9.0 percent from 7.0 percent in March, the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
“Inflation rose steeply in April, driven by the sharp climb in electricity and gas prices as the higher price cap came into effect,” ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said. “Around three-quarters of the increase in the annual rate this month came from utility bills.”
Photo: Reuters
The ONS estimated that last month was the highest level since 1982, and the fastest rise since the current data series began in 1989.
“Countries around the world are dealing with rising inflation,” British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said.
“Today’s inflation numbers are driven by the energy price cap rise in April, which in turn is driven by higher global energy prices,” Sunak said. “We cannot protect people completely from these global challenges, but are providing significant support where we can and stand ready to take further action.”
However, the main opposition Labour Party wants an emergency budget to help Britons cope with the cost-of-living crunch.
Labour finance spokeswoman Rachel Reeves described the inflation data as “a huge worry for families already stretched.”
“Today, Labour force a vote for an emergency budget and for a plan for growth,” she said.
Labour is also calling for a windfall tax on the energy sector, which has been boosted as gas and oil prices rocketed on supply worries following key producer Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey on Monday warned of an “apocalyptic” situation surrounding runaway food costs, which he said were fueled by major wheat and cooking oil producer Ukraine finding itself unable to export its goods.
Addressing British lawmakers, Bailey also spoke of a “very real income shock” coming from surging energy and food prices.
Britain risks falling into a recession with inflation expected to exceed 10 percent by the end of the year, the Bank of England said earlier this month.
CHIP WAR: Tariffs on Taiwanese chips would prompt companies to move their factories, but not necessarily to the US, unleashing a ‘global cross-sector tariff war’ US President Donald Trump would “shoot himself in the foot” if he follows through on his recent pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese and other foreign semiconductors entering the US, analysts said. Trump’s plans to raise tariffs on chips manufactured in Taiwan to as high as 100 percent would backfire, macroeconomist Henry Wu (吳嘉隆) said. He would “shoot himself in the foot,” Wu said on Saturday, as such economic measures would lead Taiwanese chip suppliers to pass on additional costs to their US clients and consumers, and ultimately cause another wave of inflation. Trump has claimed that Taiwan took up to
SUPPORT: The government said it would help firms deal with supply disruptions, after Trump signed orders imposing tariffs of 25 percent on imports from Canada and Mexico The government pledged to help companies with operations in Mexico, such as iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), shift production lines and investment if needed to deal with higher US tariffs. The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced measures to help local firms cope with the US tariff increases on Canada, Mexico, China and other potential areas. The ministry said that it would establish an investment and trade service center in the US to help Taiwanese firms assess the investment environment in different US states, plan supply chain relocation strategies and
WASHINGTON POLICY: Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs are tipped to hit shipments of small parcels, cutting export growth by 1.3 percentage points The decision by US President Donald Trump to ban Chinese companies from using a US tariff loophole would hit tens of billions of dollars of trade and reduce China’s economic growth this year, according to new estimates by economists at Nomura Holdings Inc. According to Nomura’s estimates, last year companies such as Shein (希音) and PDD Holdings Inc’s (拼多多控股) Temu shipped US$46 billion of small parcels to the US to take advantage of the rule that allows items with a declared value under US$800 to enter the US tariff-free. Tariffs of 10 percent or more and other new costs would slash such
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is reportedly making another pass at Nissan Motor Co, as the Japanese automaker's tie-up with Honda Motor Co falls apart. Nissan shares rose as much as 6 percent after Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported that Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) instructed former Nissan executive Jun Seki to connect with French carmaker Renault SA, which holds about 36 percent of Nissan’s stock. Hon Hai, the Taiwanese iPhone-maker also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), was exploring an investment or buyout of Nissan last year, but backed off in December after the Japanese carmaker penned a deal