The rate of inflation rose to 4% in December from 3.9% in November, the Office for National Statistics said. Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: 鈥淭he rate of inflation ticked up a little in December, with rises in tobacco prices due to recently introduced duty increases.
鈥淭hese were partially offset by falling food inflation, where prices still rose but at a much lower rate than this time last year.
鈥淢eanwhile, the prices of goods leaving factories are little changed over the last few months while the costs of raw materials remain lower than a year ago.鈥 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that inflation 鈥渄oes not fall in a straight line鈥 after it rose to 4% in December as he insisted the Government鈥檚 plan was working.
He said: 鈥淎s we have seen in the US, France and Germany, inflation does not fall in a straight line, but our plan is working and we should stick to it.
鈥淲e took difficult decisions to control borrowing and are now turning a corner, so we need to stay the course we have set out, including boosting growth with more competitive tax levels.鈥
