Inflation rises in U.K. largely because of rising oil prices

There has been a significant spike in the CPI in Britain. It looks at first glance that the culprit is rising oil and fuel prices which have fed through to increase transportation costs. The Government has worsened the problem by increasing a variety of fees and the V.A.T. tax to 20 %. It would be a mistake at the current level of unemployment in Britain and in the face of the proposed cuts and layoffs that the Government is announcing to add to the misery by raising interest rates. This is not the time to do this. We shall see if the Bank of England acts wisely under the circumstances and holds off raising the rates for a period of time.