Israel inflation rate edges up to 5.4% in January, highest since 2008

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel’s inflation rate hit a 14-year high in January, rising 5.4% over the prior 12 months, the Central Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

The rate was expected to remain at 5.3%, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

The consumer price index, in which the bureau slightly adjusted its basket weightings, rose 0.3% in January from December.

(Reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by John Stonestreet)