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Inflation hits low as meat costs reduce

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date18 April 2024
Publication titleEvening Chronicle
It slowed slightly less than expected last month, leading to City economists and investors trimming their forecasts for interest rate cuts this year

Official figures showed inflation dipped in March to its lowest level since September 2021. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Prices Index inflation stood at 3.2% in March, down from 3.4% in February.

It showed a slowdown in the rising cost of living, but was still above the 3.1% reading expected by a consensus of experts.

The data, which also showed higher than expected services inflation, came after the ONS revealed on Tuesday wage growth is also stronger-thanexpected, after a 6% rise in the three months to February. As a result, many City economists pushed back their forecasts for reductions to interest rates.

UK interest rates currently sit at a 15-year high of 5.25% after hikes by the Bank of England in an effort to quash inflation. Experts at ING and Pantheon Macroeconomics were among those who earlier this week predicted rate-setters at the Bank would start cuts in June, but said they now expect this to happen later in the summer, most likely at the Monetary Policy Committee's August meeting.

ING's James Smith said the data "all but rules...

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