UK inflation spiked higher than expected in April due to higher household bills and shop prices, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed on Wednesday.
The consumer price index rose 1.2% month-on-month in April, up from 0.3% in March.
This saw consumer price inflation rise 3.5% compared to a year ago, up from 2.6% the month before and higher than the 3.3% bump that economists expected.
Core CPI, which excludes more volatile prices such as for food and fuel, rose 3.8% year-on-year, up from 3.4% and higher than the 3.6% consensus forecast, after a 1.4% jump in core CPI on a monthly basis from 0.5% in March.
Services inflation, a key measure for the Bank of England as a gauge of the persistence of inflation, surged 5.4% compared to last year, up from 4.7% and higher than the 4.8% expected.
The pound climbed 0.3% to $1.343, around three-year highs, on the news, as the higher inflation may lead to the Bank slowing its rate of interest rate cuts.
CPI was lifted by higher water and energy bills, council tax rates and as companies lifted prices following a rise in employer national insurance contributions and the national minimum wage.