The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) 12-month inflation rate was 1.8% in January 2019, down from 2.0% in December 2018. The largest downward contribution to the change in the 12-month rate came from electricity, gas and other fuels, with prices overall falling between December 2018 and January 2019 compared with price rises the same time a year ago. The figures are a boost for consumers, who were squeezed by the sterling-induced inflation surge after the 2016 Brexit referendum and now face an uncertain future outside of the European Union. With wage growth at its strongest in a ... (full story)

U.K. Inflation is back below the Bank of England’s 2 percent target for the first time in two years, providing officials with further reason to refrain from raising interest rates as Brexit fears grip the economy. Consumer prices rose a less-than-forecast 1.8 percent in January from a year earlier, down from 2.1 percent in December, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. It was the smallest increase since January 2017. (full story)