XINHUA – The United Kingdom’s (UK) consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 6.7 per cent over the 12 months leading up to August, down from 6.8 per cent in July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said yesterday. “The rate of inflation eased slightly this month driven by falls in the often-erratic cost of overnight accommodation and airfares, as well as food prices rising by less than the same time last year,” said ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner.
The CPI annual inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages was 13.6 per cent in August, down from a recent high of 19.2 per cent in March, which was the highest annual rate in over 45 years, according to the ONS data.
The annual inflation rate for restaurants and hotels was 8.3 per cent in August, the lowest since May 2022. The ONS attributed the most significant upward contribution to the change in the annual rates to the rising prices of motor fuel. August’s 6.7 per cent inflation rate was the lowest since February 2022, falling from the peak of 11.1 per cent reached last October.
“A surprise fall in the UK’s inflation rate to 6.7 per cent in August will strengthen the case that interest rates are at or near peak,” said the British think tank Resolution Foundation.
In August, the Bank of England (BoE) raised the interest rate to 5.25 per cent, the 14th consecutive rate hike since December 2021, to battle high inflation. The policymakers are going to announce the next interest rate decision today.
“But while mortgagors will welcome the end of interest rate rises, Britain’s wider cost-of-living crunch is likely to continue well into the coming election year,” said research director at the Resolution Foundation James Smith.
