London, March 22 (BNA): The pound jumped after data showed that price pressures in the UK rose much more than expected in February, including inflation excluding food and energy, adding to the chances of a rate hike again this year. The week of the Bank of England. .
Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that UK consumer price inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4% in February from 10.1% in January.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the annualized CPI rate would fall to 9.9% in January.
The pound rose as much as 0.4% against the dollar to $1.2270, from a gain of 0.1% before the data.
The euro fell 0.4% against the pound, to 87.73 pence from 88.00 pence earlier.
Money markets show a 61.6% chance that the Bank of England will raise interest rates by a quarter point when it meets on Thursday, up from about 57% on Tuesday.
NAA