UK inflation accelerates for the first time in five months but is expected to be a temporary phenomenon.

UK inflation accelerated for the first time in five months, but is expected to be a temporary phenomenon, with government measures expected to ease price pressures in the spring. The UK Office for National Statistics announced on Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index rose by 3.4% year-on-year in December. This increase was higher than the 3.2% from the previous month, and slightly above economists' forecast of 3.3%. The statistics office stated that this was the first increase in inflation since July, mainly due to higher tobacco taxes and airfare prices. Service sector inflation rose from 4.4% to 4.5%, which is an indicator of domestic price pressures closely monitored by the Bank of England.