UK Posts 3.4% Inflation Rate in Pickup Set to Be Temporary

UK inflation accelerated for the first time in five months, a pickup that’s expected to prove temporary with government measures set to dampen price pressures in the spring.

Consumer prices rose 3.4% from a year earlier in December, up from a 3.2% pace the previous month, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. It was slightly higher than the 3.3% predicted by economists.