LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the United Kingdom rose in December for the first time in five months, pushing further above the Bank of England's target, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
The Office for National Statistics said the consumer prices index rose by an annual rate of 3.4% in December, up from 3.2% the month before. It said increases in taxes on tobacco products and trips abroad over Christmas contributed to the increase.
The increase was slightly lower than anticipated, with most economists predicting a rise to 3.5%. They predicted that December's rise will be a temporary blip on a downward path toward the Bank of England's target rate of 2%.
James Smith, research director at the Resolution Foundation economic think tank, said that “big falls are due in 2026, with inflation finally returning to back to more normal levels.”
With inflation trending downwards, economists expect the Bank of England to further cut its main interest rate from the current rate of 3.75%.
Britain's Labour government hopes that taming inflation and the associated reduction in borrowing costs will help bolster economic growth.
Elected in a landslide victory just 18 months ago, Labour has since seen its poll ratings tank badly, partly because an uptick in growth — its number one priority in the election — has remained largely elusive.
Treasury chief Rachel Reeves pledged after the release of the inflation data that 2026 would be the “year that Britain turns a corner."
FILE - Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves poses on the doorstep of 11 Downing Street with her ministerial red box before heading to the House of Commons to deliver her Budget speech in London, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
One year after a winter storm forced postponements across U.S. sports, another major weather system is prompting a reshuffling of games this week and threatened to wreak havoc on the weekend schedule.
A storm that meteorologists say could rival the damage of a major hurricane is expected to bring snow, ice and frigid temperatures from New Mexico to New England starting Friday.
Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers canceled their annual Fan Fest event scheduled for Saturday due to the weather forecast for frozen precipitation in North Texas and “in the interest of safety for players, fans, and employees.”
The number of states where college games were being adjusted showed the large path of the approaching storm.
The Sun Belt Conference preemptively shook up its women’s basketball schedule, moving around the start times on several games from Thursday through Saturday. The American Athletic Conference also adjusted its weekend men’s and women’s basketball schedules, moving some games up to Friday.
North Carolina Central postponed two men’s and two women’s basketball games scheduled to be played from Thursday through Monday in Durham, North Carolina.
Appalachian State moved up its men’s basketball home game with Louisiana-Lafayette to Thursday morning and Marshall made its home game against Louisiana-Monroe a noon Thursday tipoff. Tennessee’s swim meet at Georgia and the USC Upstate women’s basketball game at Longwood were pushed to Friday from Saturday due to the forecast.
Among other women’s basketball games moved up several hours Saturday included No. 20 Princeton at Brown and North Florida at Eastern Kentucky, along with men’s games involving Towson at North Carolina A&T and Texas State at James Madison.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Traffic passes piled-up snow in Lowville, N.Y., Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Cara Anna)
