Inflation in Britain has turned negative for the second time this year, easing pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates from their record low.
Official figures showed inflation was -0.1% in September, down from zero in August, pulled lower by cheaper fuel prices. Economists had expected the rate as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI) to hold at zero, according to the consensus in a Reuters poll. But some had predicted inflation could dip into negative territory.
Inflation has been at, or close to, zero since February and dipped into negative territory in April this year when prices fell for the first time in more than 50 years.
Commenting on the latest figures, Richard Campbell, head of CPI at the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said: “Though CPI has turned very slightly negative this month, the bigger picture is of a broadly flat inflation rate since the beginning of the year.
“The main downward pressures on CPI came from clothing, which rose more slowly this September than in recent years, and falling petrol and diesel prices.”
Via The Guardian
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