According to Benjamin Nabarro, chief economist at Citigroup’s UK branch, the inflation rate is entering the “stratosphere” after the Office for National Statistics put it at 10.1 percent last July.

Even with the economy weakening, last week’s data reaffirms that the risk of an accelerating pass-through of headline inflation to wages and household prices remains, the specialist said in a letter to clients quoted Monday by Sky News.

The Citigroup forecast places the inflationary rate at its highest level since 1976, and exceeds the 13 percent announced by the Bank of England for the coming months.

The Resolution Foundation think tank agreed, however, with the U.S. entity, and predicted that British inflation could reach 18.3 percent in 2023.

All the predictions are based on the new price cap that the energy regulator will impose on electricity and gas service providers as of October. It is estimated that the new tariff limit to be charged to millions of British households will be at least 3,600 pounds sterling per year (more than 4,360 dollars).

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is emerging as the favorite to replace Johnson, promises to cut taxes, while former finance minister Rishi Sunak advocates disbursing more funds to help low-income families.

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