Ahead of the Bank of England's interest rate decision, UK inflation rose to a five-month high.

BlockBeats news, September 16th, just one day before the Bank of England is set to announce its interest rate decision, official data released showed that UK inflation rose for a second consecutive month, driven by surging gasoline prices.

The UK Office for National Statistics announced on Wednesday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 3.1% year-on-year in August, the highest increase since March, compared with 2.9% in July. The result matched the median forecast of economists, while the Bank of England had projected a rise of 2.8%. The acceleration in inflation was mainly due to higher gasoline prices caused by the Iran conflict, as well as rising airfare prices during the summer holiday period.