Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on UK inflation going up for the first time since December

The UK's inflation rate has risen for the first time since December, ticking up to 2.2 percent in the year to July.

According to experts, this rise is largely due to prices of gas and electricity falling by less than they did in 2023.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says this increase was expected - but it's not good for the economy.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Kevin Gray. Are UK correspondents with us right now? Hey
Kevin either he yes, a but worrying are you? Your
inflation rate's gone up again?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yes, it has only a little bit and it was predicted,
but it is bad news. Prices have risen by two
point two percent in the year to July. That's up
from two percent and it's two point zero percent, which
is the official target of the Bank of England. So
although this was widely expected, it's thought largely to be
due to prices of gas and electricity falling by less

(00:30):
than they did a year before, so it's kind of
an odd anomaly. The bank does expect inflation to rise
further this year before falling back again. And of course
that's interesting because we have had one interest rate cut,
only a little bit, but the first one for many
many months, and that was meant to try and calm
and encourage the economy, but it has potentially boosted inflation again.

(00:54):
So at two point two percent, well, let me go
around a few countries. Germany two point six percent from
two point six percent, the Eurozone two points six percent,
US three percent, so we are keeping it down, but yeah,
our rise will be of concern.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Yeah, On the bright side, though, unemployment is looking a
lot better.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Yes it is. It's an interesting one this is unemployed
because the figures are really quite mixed. Unemployment was four
point two percent for the three months to the end
of June. That's down to four from four point four percent.
But interestingly, wage growth has continued to slow. That's now
got an annuate of five point four percent, the weakest

(01:35):
for around two years. What does this mean? Well, people
are saying we shouldn't give too much weight to the
job figures at the moment because we just think things
are tentative between growth and not growing very much. So
this interest rate cut two five percent from five and
a quarter percent earlier this month is another interesting thing.

(01:56):
The first reduction for four years. Will that boost growth?
Will that encourage people to borrow and therefore lead to
businesses growing well? That will have to wait to see.
But the slow growth wage is come after huge pay
demands and indeed today the government is said to be
intervening in a long running pay dispute with the rail

(02:18):
unions and while some criticize the government are fearing a
massive over inflation pay rise for them.

Speaker 1 (02:26):
Now Givin explain to me this briastfeeding thing they're doing.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
At Dublin Zoo, yeah, lovely. So apparently orangutang's learn by
mirroring behavior, and when a nineteen year old orangutang called
Modeure gave birth to a healthy male baby at the
end of July at Dublin Zoo, there was big cheer
and big smiling faces. But sadly the mother has not

(02:50):
been breastfeeding her young baby, and over the past few
months the zoo has been arranging a program which has
now kicked in and thirty the new mothers are taking
terms to breastfeed their children behind glass, of course, but
in front of the pregnant orangutang, hoping they will be
able to encourage and she will learn the lactation process

(03:12):
from them. Modieu this orangutang has previously given birth to
two babies in twenty nineteen and twenty twenty two, but
apparently the zoo said, well, she didn't really exhibit the
necessary maternal qualities and both died, and that's why they're
hoping this particular baby will be different if she can
pick up on the big hints of humans breastfeeding right

(03:34):
outside her window. Now she comes to the window to
have a look at what's going on. So if this
is true that orangutang's mirror behavior, then maybe this may work. Incidentally,
this originally started with a worker at the zoo breastfeeding.
She convinced eight colleagues to help out as well. They
then went on a group chat and she said, my

(03:55):
phone didn't stop bringing. The next day, thirty women had
signed up. A wrota was created. Who knew breastfeeding moms
might be the secret to this little baby orang attag's life.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
I mean it's quite possible the orangutans like, what the
hell is going on with all these people out there? Gavin,
thank you very much as always, talk to you in
a couple of days. Gavin Gray, UK correspondent. For more
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