Inflation uptick fails to dampen rate cut hopes

THE annual rate of inflation rose for the first time this year last month, although not by as much as most City forecasters feared.

- Jonathan Prynn

The headline measure of the cost of living, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), was 2.2% higher in July, compared with a rise of 2% in June, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

However, inflation had been expected to go up to 2.3% so City analysts believe the smaller-than-predicted rise is unlikely to delay further interest rate cuts in the autumn. The rate of inflation last rose in December 2023 when the CPI went up from 3.9% to 4%.

The ONS said the main reason for the tick up in the inflation rate was that gas and electricity prices did not fall as steeply as they had in the same month last year.