UK inflation dropped to 6.7% in August, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The better-than-expected numbers (analysts had expected inflation to rise to 7% from 6.8% in July) are likely to put less pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to hike interest rates further from current levels.
August’s figure was driven by “falls in the often-erratic cost of overnight accommodation and air fares, as well as food prices rising by less than the same time last year.” These declining figures offset rising petrol prices, which put upward pressure on the headline inflation figures.
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