$GBIRYY - U.K CPI (December/2025)

GBIRYY 3.4%
December/2025 +0.2%
source: Office for National Statistics



- U.K consumer price inflation rose to 3.4% in December 2025, up from November’s eight-month low of 3.2% and slightly above market expectations of 3.3%.
This year-end acceleration, the first since July, could complicate the Bank of England’s efforts to guide inflation back toward its 2% target, though the rise is expected to be temporary thanks to government interventions.

The increase was largely driven by higher prices for alcohol and tobacco, which jumped to 5.2% from 4.0% in November due to the timing of tobacco duty changes, and transport costs, which rose to 4.0% from 3.7% on the back of higher airfares.
Additional upward pressure came from food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.5% vs. 4.2%). Services inflation, a key gauge of domestic price pressures for the BOE, edged up slightly to 4.5% from 4.4%, below expectations.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like unprocessed food and energy, remained steady at 3.2%, marking its lowest level since December 2024.