The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation rate was 2.3% in March 2018, down from 2.5% in February 2018. Since reaching a recent high of 2.8% towards the end of 2017, the rate has fallen back to its lowest since March 2017. The largest downward contribution to the change in the rate between February 2018 and March 2018 came from prices for clothing and footwear rising by less than they did a year ago, with the effect coming mainly from a range of items of women’s clothing. Price movements for alcoholic drinks and tobacco also made a downward contribution to the change ... (full story)

U.K. inflation slowed to the weakest level in a year in March, easing pressure on consumers after a year of price gains outstripping wages. Consumer prices rose 2.5 percent from a year earlier, down from 2.7 percent in February, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. That’s less than economists estimated. Core inflation cooled to 2.3 percent, also the lowest rate in a year. The figures may weaken the case for more Bank of England interest-rate increases later this year. Policy makers are widely expected to raise the benchmark for a second time in six months at their May meeting as the pace of price ... (full story)