By Ed Frankl
The U.K.'s annual rate of inflation cooled to a two-and-a-half year low in March despite being a touch hotter than expected, though not likely enough to derail the Bank of England from lowering its key interest rate later this year.
Consumer prices were 3.2% higher in March than the same month a year earlier, cooling from the 3.4% annual rate of inflation recorded in February, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. The reading, the lowest since September 2021, was marginally higher than the 3.1% expected by a consensus of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
Offering further reassurance to policymakers at the BOE, core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, also slowed to 4.2%, from 4.5% in February.
The BOE left its key rate unchanged at a 16-year high in March, but signaled that it is likely to cut later this year, while giving little guidance on the exact timing.
Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-17-24 0223ET
