Central Banks
For Clues on Why the BOE Hasn’t Cut Rates, Just Head to the Pub
- Hospitality price rises now double the share of two years ago
- Pubs and restaurants struggle with soaring wages, input costs
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has rarely missed a chance to take credit for bringing UK inflation down to 3.2%. But his own policies are set to make it harder for the Bank of England to get price increases down to the government’s 2% target and keep them there.
The hospitality sector — pubs, restaurants, hotels and theaters, together with food and beverages — now accounts for about 2.5 percentage points, or about 80%, of the annual rate of inflation, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. That’s more than double the share of just two years ago.