Inflation falls to two-year low after energy costs ease | UK News

Consumer prices rose 4.6% in the year through October, decelerating from the previous month of 6.7% and showing that bids to bring chip inflation are working.

‘The easing in the annual inflation rates principally reflected negative contributions from three divisions, with large downward effects from housing and household services, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and restaurants and hotels,’ the stasititcs agency said.

‘Recreation and culture provided the only large positive contribution.’

Inflation is a general increase in prices, meaming your pound coin won’t go as far tomorrow as it did today.

Officials look to the Consumer Price Index – the annual change in prices for everyday goods and services such as food, furniture and transport – to measure this.

Bank of England (BoE) policymakers have spent years blowing at inflation to cool if off by increasing interest rates, making borrowing more expensive.

The central bank is tasked with bringing inflation down to 2%.

Now inflation is running at a pace that is much less rapid than last year – which saw it swell to a high of 11.1% in October – or even earlier this year.

The government pledged to halve inflation by the end of the year, with today’s inflation report showing this has been met early.

Giving Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a rare win, he said: ‘In January I made halving inflation this year my top priority. I did that because it is, without a doubt, the best way to ease the cost of living and give families financial security.

‘Today, we have delivered on that pledge.’

However, experts warn that the road to finally wrangling inflation remains a long and bumpy one.

Ben Harrison, director of the Work Foundation think-tank at Lancaster University, said: ‘While the Government will be encouraged to see inflation fall to 4.6% – below its 5% target for the first time since November 2021 – millions of workers in insecure and low paid work are still facing significant cost of living pressures.

‘Wage growth in sectors such as hospitality and tourism – where insecure jobs tend to be concentrated – remains lower than average and workers in these jobs are more likely to be impacted by high food inflation which is still at 10.1%.’

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