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- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
- New lawsuits against Sean Combs allege sex assault, including of minor
- Italy begins migrant transfers to Albania with first group of 16
- Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos
- Carsley open to foreign England manager amid Guardiola links
- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years prison for French researcher
- 'Innocent' British nerve agent victim caught in global murder plot: inquiry
- Afghan Taliban vow to implement media ban on images of living things
- Russian prosecutor demands 3 years, 3 months jail for French researcher
- England ready for Pakistan's spin assault in second Test
- New Zealand's Ravindra excited for India Tests with father in crowd
- India's capital bans fireworks to curb air pollution
- Stocks diverge, oil retreats as China disappoints markets
- FIFA to open 'global dialogue' on transfer system after Diarra ruling
- Trio wins economics Nobel for work on wealth inequality
- Starmer vows to cut red tape as he urges foreign investors to 'back' UK
- Ex-Stasi officer jailed over 1974 Berlin border killing
- 'Not viable': Barcelona turns against surging tourism
- Hezbollah says targeted Israeli naval base after deadly drone strike
UK rental market suffers record price rise
UK housing rental prices spiked by a record rate with London hit particularly hard, official data showed Wednesday, stoking a cost-of-living crisis as inflation remains elevated despite a sharp slowdown.
Private rents leapt 6.1 percent in the 12 months to October, which was the highest annual percentage change since comparable records began in 2016, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a report.
In the British capital, rents surged 6.8 percent -- the biggest annual rate since London records started in 2006.
Renting prices have steadily risen since mid-2021 as the economy re-opened from Covid lockdowns, further fuelling a nationwide squeeze on living standards.
"The rise in rental prices continues to accelerate across the country, with Wales, London and Scotland seeing the biggest annual increases," said ONS head of housing market indices Aimee North.
At the same time, British Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation slowed sharply to a two-year low of 4.6 percent in October from 6.7 percent in September, separate ONS data showed.
The reading does not reflect the surge in the cost of housing rents.
UK inflation also remains the highest among the G7 rich nations and is more than double the Bank of England's official two-percent target.
The BoE has implemented a series of aggressive interest-rate hikes since late 2021 in a bid to tame consumer prices.
Yet those rate hikes have worsened the cost-of-living crisis because retail banks have then increased the cost of repayments on mortgages, hampering the property market.
As a result, house prices in Britain have fallen annually for the first time in a decade, the ONS also revealed on Wednesday.
The average UK house price dipped 0.1 percent in the 12 months to September. That marked the first annual decline since April 2012.
The value of a typical property stood at £291,000.
However, Wednesday's inflation news raised hopes that the BoE could decide to reduce its key interest rate from the current 15-year high of 5.25 percent.
That in turn would stimulate activity in the housing market.
"The latest fall in inflation... will further boost hopes that interest rates could soon start to drop and entice more buyers to the market," said Nicky Stevenson, managing director at estate agent group Fine & Country.
J.Williams--AMWN