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UK inflation falls to fresh record low in January

Cherry Reynard
Written By:
Cherry Reynard
Posted:
Updated:
17/02/2015

Inflation fell to 0.3% in January, the lowest level ever recorded, as price growth continued to slump on the back of falling oil prices.

UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation fell from 0.5 per cent in December to 0.3 per cent in January, slightly below the consensus forecast of a drop to 0.4 per cent.

December’s reading represented the joint-lowest level since the CPI index was established in 1989, with today’s reading marking the first time this measure of inflation has fallen below 0.5 per cent .

Falling prices for motor fuels and food were the main contributors to the latest slowdown, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Retail Price Index (RPI) measure of inflation, meanwhile, rose by 1.1 per cent in the year ending January 2015, down from 1.6 per cent in December 2014.

Last week, the Bank of England warned the UK was sliding towards its first period of negative inflation in more than 50 years.

Governor Mark Carney said: “[Inflation] will likely fall further, potentially turn negative in the spring, and be close to zero for the remainder of the year.”

The Bank is predicting a sharper upwards recovery in the inflation rate, and still believes the measure will reach its 2 per cent target on a two-year time horizon.