UK inflation rate falls by less-than-expected in April - Times of India

Source: The Times of India
Author: Reuters

LONDON: Britain's consumer price inflation fell by less-than-expected in April, raising fresh doubt about the Bank of England's plans to cut interest rates in the coming months which would give a boost to embattled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

British consumer prices rose by an annual 2.3%, down from a 3.2% increase in March and its lowest since July 2021 when it stood at 2.0%, the Office for National Statistics said.

The BoE - which has an inflation target of 2% - and economists polled by Reuters had forecast a bigger drop to 2.1%.

Services inflation, closely watched by the BoE as a gauge of domestically generated price pressure, also came in stronger than expected at 5.9%. The BoE's forecasts and the Reuters poll had pointed to a reading of 5.5%.

Sterling rose after the data.