UK consumer price inflation climbs to 3.3%

LONDON (AP) - The Bank of England warned on Tuesday that Britain's inflation rate is likely to surge to 4 percent before the end of the year after hitting 3.3 percent in May _ its highest level since the Labour Party came to power just over a decade ago.

Spiraling prices have led economists to predict that the British central bank will be forced into raising interest rates this year, but governor Mervyn King tempered some of that speculation by saying the path for rate decisions "is uncertain.''