British inflation accelerated more than expected in September as rising energy costs linked to the Iran war pushed up fuel prices. This strengthened expectations of further monetary policy tightening by the Bank of England and increased pressure on the government to support households in next week's budget.
Annual consumer price inflation rose to 3.5% in September from 3.1% in August, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast inflation of 3.4%.
