UK inflation unchanged at 8.7% in May: ONS

LONDON - The United Kingdom's Consumer Price Index rose by 8.7 percent in the 12 months up to May, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday. However, the CPI did not budge between April and May.

"Annual inflation was little changed in May and remains at a historically high level," ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner said.

The cost of airfares rose by more than it did a year ago, and is at a higher level than usual for May, Fitzner noted. Rising prices for second-hand cars, live music events and computer games also contributed to inflation remaining high.

Nevertheless, these were offset by a fall in the cost of petrol, he said. Food price inflation remains high, but the rate has eased slightly this month, with costs rising more slowly than at this time last year.

Core CPI, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, rose by 7.1 percent in the 12 months to May. This was up from 6.8 percent in April, to reach the highest rate since March 1992, according to the ONS.

May's CPI figures ratchet up the pressure on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to increase the benchmark interest rate substantially over the coming months, said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics consultancy.

"We continue to see little evidence of profiteering by retailers, so we expect food and core goods CPI inflation to fully reflect the decline in producer output price inflation over the coming months," Tombs said. Services CPI inflation will likely take longer to decline, he added.