LONDON, Sept 16 (Reuters) – British inflation accelerated to 3.1% in August from 2.9% in July, official figures showed on Wednesday, a day before the Bank of England is expected to announce that it is keeping interest rates on hold.
Economists polled by Reuters had mostly expected that consumer price inflation would speed up to an annual rate of 3.1% due to a renewed climb in energy prices caused by the resumption of conflict in the Gulf.
The BoE predicted in July that annual inflation would stand at 2.8% in August.
(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Sarah Young)
