The Bank of England’s price growth gauges failed to decrease in July, raising concerns about chronically high inflation in Britain.

The Office for National Statistics reported a 6.8% annual consumer price inflation rate, down from 7.9% in June.

This was welcomed by British consumers who have had higher inflation than most industrialized nations.

However, new indicators of stickiness in core inflation and consumer service prices mirrored BoE policymakers’ warnings that long-term high inflation risks were emerging.

Core inflation was 6.9%, steady from June and higher than the Reuters poll’s 6.8% forecast.

Services inflation, which largely reflects wage inflation, climbed to 7.4% from 7.2%, exceeding the BoE’s prediction.

Sterling increased marginally versus the U.S. dollar, bolstering chances that the BoE will continue raising interest rates.

The rise in core inflation is terrible news for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has pledged to halve inflation by year’s end.