UK reportedly to investigate alleged profiteering amid rampant inflation

LONDON

UK Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt will investigate concerns of companies taking advantage of rampant inflation by raising prices, local press reported on Monday.

British daily The Guardian, citing a Treasury source, said that Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunt plans to meet with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) as well as the regulatory bodies overseeing the energy, water, and communications sectors.

These meetings are being held to look into potential profiteering within their respective industries and measures to address this issue.

The decision resulted from the Bank of England suggesting that certain retailers might be inflating prices or neglecting to pass on cost reductions to consumers to boost their profit margins amid persistent inflation.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has warned retailers about the importance of pricing their products in a manner that is both “responsible and fair.”

Sunak expressed concern for households facing escalating costs and said weekly shopping bills had recently shot up by an excessive amount.

The Bank of England on Thursday raised UK interest rates by 50 basis points to a 15-year high of 5% to counter stubborn inflation, which remains unchanged at 8.7%, well above the main target of 2%.

The bank said the impact of “domestic price and wage developments… were likely to take longer to unwind than they did to emerge.”

• Bank of England
• Rishi Sunak
• UK Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt