Surging crude oil prices pushed up British inflation in April and analysts predicted further acceleration this month as the cost of petrol keeps rising.
The Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday the consumer price index rose 0.4 percent on the month in April, taking the annual rate up a tenth of a point to 1.2 percent.
That is still well below the Bank of England's 2.0 percent target but analysts said more interest rate hikes seemed a sure bet as the central bank is more concerned with inflationary pressures in the months ahead, partly as global commodity prices have been soaring.
US crude oil futures set another 21-year closing high at $41.55 a barrel on Monday. Economists said the rise in oil prices would keep feeding through into higher petrol prices, pushing up inflation in the months ahead.
"While CPI inflation rose only modestly in April, larger rises are on the cards over the coming months. Next month's figure (for May) could easily be 1.4 percent if not 1.5 percent," said George Buckley, UK economist at Deutsche Bank.
The BoE raised interest rates by a quarter-point to 4.25 percent this month to keep a lid on price rises but last week forecast that inflation would still be above target in two years despite the move.
Futures markets predict interest rates will hit 5.0 percent by the end of the year.
Still, the pound shed a quarter cent against the dollar and fell versus the euro after the data as some traders had positioned themselves for an even sharper pick-up in inflation.