News article

CPI drops 0.6%

CPI drops 0.6%
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Annual inflation in the UK economy saw a further decline last month, data from the Office for National Statistics has shown.

April brought a 0.6 per cent decline in the consumer prices index (CPI), with the figure falling to 2.3 per cent.

The fall, which was greater than many analysts had predicted, brings the figure to its lowest reading for over a year.

There was also a large decrease in the retail prices index, which declined from -0.4 per cent in March to -1.2 per cent in April - the largest drop since records began in 1948.

Jonathan Loynes, economist at Capital Economics, stated: "This suggests that underlying price pressures might be starting to respond to the downturn in the economy."

He added that a large amount of "spare capacity" in the economy may also become available.

The most recent drop has brought CPI closer to the two per cent target set by the government and follows a 0.3 per cent fall in March.ADNFCR-1681-ID-19178464-ADNFCR