UK Inflation Spikes Near 2-Year High

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's statistics agency says inflation in the country spiked to a near two-year high of 1 percent in the year to September from 0.6 percent in August.

The Office for National Statistics said Tuesday that clothing, hotels and motor fuels drove the rate up to its highest level since Nov. 2014. A fall in air fares and food prices helped mitigate the increase.

Inflation is expected to tick up over the coming months as import prices increase in the wake of the pound's sharp fall in the currency markets following Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union.

However, the agency's head of inflation, Mike Prestwood, says there is little evidence yet to suggest that the "lower pound is pushing up the prices of everyday consumer goods."

(KA)