British consumer price inflation leapt to its highest level in three decades last month, intensifying the pressure on embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Rishi Sunak to ease the cost-of-living squeeze.
The annual inflation rate climbed to 7.0% in March from 6.2% in February, its highest since March 1992 official data showed on Wednesday.
The month-on-month rise was the highest for the time of year since the Office for National Statistics' records began in 1988. Broad-based price rises, ranging from vehicle fuel to food and furniture, were behind the increase.
Households are facing the biggest cost-of-living squeeze since records began in the 1950s, according to Britain's budget forecasters, and the inflation overshoot is further bad news for the government too, Reuters reported.
British inflation has seen an unprecedented rise over the past year, following a similar pattern to most other advanced economies as energy prices surged and pandemic supply-chain difficulties persisted.
Wednesday's data showed that core CPI, which excludes food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices, rose to 5.7% in March from 5.2% in February. Retail price inflation rose to 9.0%, its highest since 1991.
There were signs of further inflation pressure ahead as manufacturers increased their prices by 11.9% over the 12 months to March, the biggest jump since September 2008. Manufacturers' raw material costs leapt by 19.2%, the biggest increase in records began in 1997.
