Higher-than-expected inflation presents risk to further policy easing by the Bank of England

CPI inflation rose to 3.5% in April, as the Ofgem price cap increase and Autumn Budget measures came into effect.

Policy measures were always expected to push up inflation in April, however, the larger-than-expected jump will be of concern to the Bank of England (BoE).

We expect price growth to remain elevated throughout the rest of the year. Combining this with the strong growth figures published last week, there is arguably less room for easing than policymakers had previously suggested.