Britain’s inflation fell from 10.1% in March to 8.7% in April, according to official data released on Wednesday, but the decline is smaller than expected and food prices remain high.
The British Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that it is the first time since last August that inflation in the country is below 10%.
Britain’s inflation fell from 10.1% in March to 8.7% in April, according to official data released on Wednesday, but the decline is smaller than expected and food prices remain high.
The British Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that it is the first time since last August that inflation in the country is below 10%.
Grant Fitzner, ONS chief economist, said “the rate of inflation has eased markedly as the sharp increase in energy prices seen last year has not been repeated”.
In the United Kingdom, gas and electricity prices rose in April 2022, months after the war broke out in Ukraine, leading to inflation that disappeared a year later in a year-on-year comparison.
However, it fell short of recessionary expectations, especially from the Bank of England, which forecast a fall of up to 8.4%.
Despite the decline, UK inflation remains the highest among the G7 countries.
Beyond energy, “general prices remain significantly higher than the same period last year, and food price inflation is near an all-time high,” Fitzner said.
Food prices rose 19% in April (down 0.1 percentage points compared to March) and their increase is registering the highest level in the country for several months in more than 45 years.
