Some analysts believe the recession forecast by the Bank of England last week has already begun. Soaring energy prices have already helped push up inflation to a 40-year high of 9.4%, causing consumers to cut back on spending. Earlier this week, research firm Cornwall Insight forecasted that the average household energy bill hit £4,266 ($5,177) a year from January — equating to about £355 ($431) a month. UK household energy bills have already soared 54% this year as a result of rocketing wholesale costs, worsened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. But as energy price forecasts have continued to balloon, many anti-poverty campaigners say the support does not go far enough.

Source: CNN August 12, 2022 14:00 UTC