With the Bank of England already signalling that inflation rates will probably hit 5% before settling down and heading towards the target 2%, it surprises no one when the inflation rate announced yesterday hit 4.4% in July, 0.2% higher than June.

Energy prices are still on the rise and fuel prices at the pumps seem to be sitting just below the recent highs, so no good news for the UK households there and commuters can look forward to rises in the region of 8% for their rail tickets in the near future.