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Rishi Sunak declares victory on inflation pledge after CPI tumbles to 4.6% in October
Live  
Rishi Sunak declares victory on inflation pledge after CPI tumbles to 4.6% in October
Biggest drop in UK CPI index since 1992 means PM can claim victory in pledge to halve inflation this year
Headlines
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Today's agenda
UK inflation has fallen to a two-year low of 4.6%, as the cost of living squeeze eases.

The annual rate in October is down from 6.7% in September.

That is the lowest rate of price increases in two years, and means inflation has more than halved since late last year.

It is an even bigger fall than the City expected.

The decline follows the drop in energy bills last month after Ofgem lowered the cap on household bills.

But, although inflation has dropped, prices are still rising compared with a year ago.

This means that real wages are continuing to rise – we learned yesterday that total pay rose by 7.9% a year, on average, in July-September.

October’s sharp drop in the CPI rate to 4.6% means Rishi Sunak can claim victory in his pledge to halve inflation by the end of this year.

He said: “In January I made halving inflation this year my top priority. I did that because it is, without a doubt, the best way to ease the cost of living and give families financial security.

“Today, we have delivered on that pledge.”

On a monthly basis, CPI did not change in October, the Office for National Statistics said.

That means prices (measured by a basket of goods and services) were flat last month, compared with a rise of 2% in October 2022 when energy prices were soaring.

The pace of price rises for food and non-alcoholic beverages also fell sharply in October but was still – just – in double digits.

The annual inflation rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped to 10.1% in October 2023, down from 12.2% in September.

That is an improvement on the recent high of 19.2% hit in March 2023 (the highest annual rate in more than 45 years).

The agenda
• 9.30am GMT: UK house price index for September
• 9.30am GMT: UK rental prices index for October
• 10am GMT: eurozone trade balance for September
• 1.30pm GMT: US PPI index of factory gate prices

We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
Opinion
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