The UK's upcoming July Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to rise by 2.9% year-on-year, breaking the previous four-month trend of declining inflation. In addition to the seasonal jump in energy bills, AI-driven memory chip shortages are becoming a new inflationary driver, leading to price increases for mobile phones, laptops, and game consoles. Apple laptops and Xbox game consoles have already announced price hikes. The Bank of England has warned that AI capacity expansion is pushing up chip prices, and data from the British Retail Consortium in July also shows that chip costs have been passed on to retail prices of electronic products. The resurgence of inflation puts the Bank of England in a difficult position, with inflation expected to remain elevated throughout the second half of 2026, narrowing the scope for interest rate cuts. The UK's July CPI data will be released on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at 7:00 AM BST.