How Britain became the G7’s inflation outlier – in one chart

Andrew Bailey and the Bank of England are currently in a battle with inflation, but the UK’s CPI has been consistently higher than G7 rivals’ since the banking crisis. Illustration: Claire Yubin Oh/The Guardian

The UK has a longstanding problem with inflation. Since the 2008 banking crash, bouts of inflation felt across the world have sent prices higher in the UK than its G7 rivals.

In July 2009, during the recession that followed the banking crisis, UK inflation was 3.1 points above the G7 average. Two years later, when recovery sent oil prices soaring, it stood about 2% above the G7 average. In March this year, however, it stood a full 3.5 points above the G7 level.