UK inflation (CPI) hit 6.8 percent in July, in line with expectations and dropping by 4.3 points compared to its previous high in October 2022 according to the Office for National Statistics. Apart from a sudden spike in February, inflation rates have been dropping continuously since the record number this past fall. Since September 22, the Bank of England raised its interest rates by 3 points from 2.25 to 5.25 to combat inflation, a strategy that’s seemingly working well. In a pledge formulated in January this year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to halve inflation by the end of 2023.
According to the ONS, the latest decrease can be attributed to “falling gas and electricity prices”. On the other hand, “food prices rose in July 2023 but by less than in July 2022, also leading to an easing in the annual inflation rates. Hotels and passenger transport by air were the classes that provided the largest offsetting upward contributions to the change in the rate.”
Source: Statista
By: Martin Armstrong
