UK inflation will be much higher than previously thought. This is according to the US bank Citi. The bank’s economists now assume a peak of 18.6 percent in January. The main reasons cited for the increase are the maximum energy tariffs in the United Kingdom, which increase twice a year.

That maximum rate for energy prices has already increased considerably in April, to just under 2000 pounds for a year of energy. Citi’s economists expect this amount to more than double in October to just under £ 4,600. Next April it would rise again to more than 5800 pounds.

The U.S. bank sees British inflation as bleak. A peak of more than 18 percent is higher than the highest UK inflation after the second oil crisis in 1979. Other major financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and EY expect inflation to peak at at least 15 percent, while the Bank of England has long stated that inflation will rise above 13 percent by the end of this year.

The sharp rise in energy prices is one of the reasons for high inflation in the UK. In addition, the country’s economy is suffering from the negative effects of Brexit, which means that the economy is doing less well than in the rest of Europe.