The pressure on household finances from the rising cost of living did not ease last month, new figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed, as inflation remained higher than expected. Consumer Prices Index inflation stayed at 8.7% in May, the same level as in April, despite experts forecasting a fall to 8.4%.
It shows that people continue to face higher costs, and is also likely to put more pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates even further on Thursday.
The ONS said prices of plane tickets, entrance to live music venues, and computer games had particularly hit households during the month, meanwhile the price of petrol and diesel fell compared with a year ago.
