LONDON – Britain’s inflation rate rose to 2.6% in November, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday, marking the second consecutive month the headline figure has risen.

The data was in line with forecasts by economists polled by Reuters and was up from 2.3% in October.

Core inflation, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, was 3.5%, slightly below the 3.6% forecast by Reuters.

Overall price growth hit a three-and-a-half-year low of 1.7% in September, but is expected to rise further in coming months, partly due to regulators raising energy price caps this winter.

“This upward trend appears set to continue in the coming months,” Joe Nellis, economic adviser at accounting firm MHA, said in emailed comments on Wednesday, citing energy markets and “domestic Chronic Pressures of Tight Labor Markets”.

Nellis added that these structural issues will be “exacerbated by recent decisions made by the government” including Higher public sector pay solutions, raise minimum wage and the pressure it brings to businesses Increase employer taxes.

Persistent inflation in the services sector, a dominant part of the UK economy, has led money markets to predict a near-impossible rate cut by the Bank of England at its final meeting of the year on Thursday. Earlier this week, the ONS reported that the bets had been confirmed Normal wage growth strengthens It rose to 5.2% in the August-October period, up from 4.9% in the July-September period.

November data showed services inflation remained unchanged at 5%.

Research firm Capital Economics said the report “firmly rules out” the possibility of the Bank of England cutting interest rates in December.

However, George Dibb, deputy director of economic policy at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), said in an email that the headline inflation data was broadly consistent with the Bank of England’s forecast.

“The real concern is that UK growth is weaker than expected and is now lagging behind the central bank’s own forecasts,” Dibb said.

this UK economy unexpectedly shrinks It fell 0.1% in October, the second consecutive monthly decline.

After the report was released, the pound continued to fall by 0.06% against the dollar and 0.19% against the euro.

If the Bank of England keeps monetary policy unchanged in December, it will cut the key interest rate only twice by the end of the year, from 5.25% to 4.75%. The European Central Bank also issued cut four percentage points and this month Shows firm willingness to cut interest rates next year.

The Federal Reserve is Rate cuts widely expected The quarter-percentage point cut at Wednesday’s meeting brings this year’s total reduction to a full one-percentage point. some doubts There is hesitancy to take this step given inflationary pressures.