UK inflation unexpectedly rises to 4% in December

Questions over early BoE rate cuts

The annual rate of UK inflation unexpectedly rose to 4% in December, tempering bets of an early interest rate cut by the Bank of England.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the uptick was in large part due to an increase in tobacco and alcohol prices, rising 12.9% in the year to December, while food and non-alcoholic beverage prices decreased. Core inflation, which excludes food, alcohol, tobacco and energy, rose 5.1% in December, unchanged from the previous month.  Economists had expected headline inflation to decelerate to 3.8% in December, and the core CPI reading to slow to 4.9%.  Global investors temper bond yield expectations amid record rate cuts optimism The UK has joined the US and the Euroz...