Mubasher: The UK’s consumer price index (CPI), the inflation indicator, showed a year-on-year increase to 2.3% in May from 2.2% in the previous month.

The largest upward contribution to the change of inflation rate was primarily brought about by the surge of motor fuel prices between April and May, data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Wednesday.

Moreover, rising air and sea fares also added to the inflation rate.

On the other hand, changes in the prices of games, domestic electricity, food and non-alcoholic drinks and furnishing partially weighed on the upward impact.

The CPI’s 12-month rate registered 2.4% in May, unchanged from the preceding month, ONS data said.

Moreover, all the sectors in the UK contributed positively to the output annual inflation, with the factory output prices rising 2.9% in the year ended May, compared with 2.5% in the previous month.

The largest upward impact came from the petroleum products, according to ONS data.

On an annual basis, input prices also increased, hitting their highest level since June 2017, while prices for materials and fuel increasing 9.2% in the 12 months ended May, compared with 5.6% in the prior month.

By 9:03 am GMT, the GBP/USD pair fell 0.37% to $1.3323, while the EUR/GBP rose 0.35% to GBP 0.8814.