UK inflation increased to its highest level for more than a year last month, new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggests.
The UK’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation hit 3.5% in April, up from 2.6% in March and the highest since January 2024.
Economists had been expecting a rise to 3.3% last month.
The increase has been linked to increases in energy bills across in Britain.
Ofgem’s energy price cap rose by 6.4% in April, having fallen a year earlier.
The energy price cap system does not apply in Northern Ireland.
In fact, prices for many Northern Ireland households has come down in recent months due to the falling price of home heating oil.
Analysis by the Consumer Council suggests the average price of 500 litres of home heating oil dropped to around £253 last week, the lowest level for almost four years.
An estimated two-thirds of Northern Ireland households are oil-fired.
Road fuel prices have also come down in 2025 linked to the falling wholesale price of crude oil.
But Northern Ireland consumers have still been impacted by higher rates bills, with most consumers experiencing hikes to mobile and broadband tariffs in April.
ONS acting director-general Grant Fitzner said the impact of rising gas and electricity bills in Britain was a major factor in the rising headline rate of inflation.
“Gas and electricity bills rose this month compared with sharp falls at the same time last year due to changes to the Ofgem energy price cap,” he said.
“Water and sewerage bills also rose strongly this year, as did vehicle excise duty, which all pushed the headline rate up to its highest level since the beginning of last year.”
Wage data published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) earlier this month revealed the average monthly wage increased by almost 11% over the year to April.
The median monthly earning for pay as you earn (PAYE) employees in the north rose £17 (0.7%) to £2,427 last month, which was £238 (10.9%) higher than 12 months earlier.