UK inflation pressures grow after vote to leave EU
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 20, 2003 file photo, a series of bank notes are displayed in central London. The pound's sharp drop following Britain's vote to leave the European Union is starting to weigh on companies, particularly manufacturers, by increasing the cost of the imported raw materials and goods they require to do business. Official figures released Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016 showed that producer prices jumped 4.3 percent in the year through July, compared with a 0.5 percent drop in the year through June as the cost of imports soared due to the pound's decline. (AP Photo/Veronique de Viguerie, File) (The Associated Press)
Official figures show consumer prices in Britain rose more than expected in July, while the cost of raw materials for manufacturers grew as a result of the pound's drop in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union.
The Office for National Statistics says consumer prices rose by an annual 0.6 percent due to more expensive motor fuel and second-hand cars. Economists had expected an unchanged rate of 0.5 percent.
The agency says the vote to leave the EU had no obvious impact yet on consumer prices.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Mike Prestwood, head of prices at ONS, noted that a rise in producer prices — the cost of materials companies use — suggests "the fall in the exchange rate is beginning to push up import prices faced by manufacturers."