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.