Inflation has hit its highest level since Labour came to power fuelled by bigger bills for domestic energy and rents in November.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation rose to 2.7 per cent in November from 2.4 per cent in October, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed.
Inflation has now been above the Bank of England's 2 per cent target for seven successive months, although it eased from 2.5 per cent in August to 2.4 per cent in September.
Despite the Bank of England raising interest rates to a five-year high of 5 per cent last month, inflation continued to climb in November because of the upward effect from costs for housing, water, electricity and gas, as well as DIY materials and rents.
The CPI rate beat expectations of economists, who were anticipating 2.6 per cent as sluggish shopping figures offset the raft of spiralling household costs.
It shows UK inflation is running above the European Union average which stood at 1.8 per cent in October - compared with the UK's CPI figure of 2.4 per cent in the same month.
The Retail Price Index (RPI), which includes housing costs such as council tax and mortgage repayments, rose to 3.9 per cent from 3.7 per cent in October.
The RPI, which is used to determine pay settlements, saw an injection from higher food prices as poor harvests caused by warm summer weather took their toll.
Source: Independent Television News
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