Faster-than-expected slowdown took British inflation to the lowest level in two years, soothing fears of further interest rate hikes by the Bank of England and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed that he has delivered on his pledge of halving price growth ahead of election next year. Consumer price inflation eased to 4.6 percent in October from 6.7 percent in the previous month, the Office for National Statistics reported Wednesday. The rate was the lowest since October 2021 and was weaker than the expected 4.8 percent. Despite the sharp slowdown, inflation is more than double the 2 percent target.
Excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, core inflation slowed to 5.7 percent from 6.1 percent in September. The rate was below the economists' forecast of 5.8 percent.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.