British official inflation climbs to 4.5pc in August

LONDON: British 12-month inflation edged up to 4.5 percent in August from 4.4 percent in July in part due to rising energy prices, official data showed on Tuesday.

Consumer Prices Index inflation jumped 0.6 percent in August from July on a month-on-month basis, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

"The main upward pressures to annual inflation came from clothing, fuels & lubricants, furniture & household goods and domestic heating," the ONS said.

The inflation rises came under market expectations.

Analysts had forecast a 12-month inflation jump to 4.6 percent in August and consumer prices rising by 0.7 percent between July and last month, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

The Bank of England is predicting that inflation will hit 5.0 percent later this year, driven by soaring domestic electricity and gas bills, before falling back in 2012.

The British central bank's main task is to use monetary policy as a tool to keep annual inflation rate close to 2.0 percent far below the current level.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011