LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Britain’s inflation slowed slightly in August to 9.9% year on year after hitting 10.1% in July, its highest level in 40 years, official statistics show published on Wednesday.
Economists polled by Reuters on average expected an acceleration to 10.2%.
This slowdown is mainly due to the fall in the price of motor fuels, specifies the ONS, the national institute of statistics.
Compared to July, the British consumer price index rose by 0.5% in raw data, a slightly less marked increase than expected since the consensus gave it at 0.6%.
Prices for automotive fuels and lubricants fell 6.8% month-on-month, their biggest drop since April 2020.
Britain still has the highest inflation of the major advanced countries and financial markets continue to anticipate a further hike in the Bank of England (BoE), which has postponed its monetary policy decision. to September 22 due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The evolution of interest rate futures thus shows a 79% probability of a three-quarter point hike in the key rate to 2.5% next week, which would be its highest level since 1989. if the sterling crisis of September 1992 is excluded.
Statistics on producer prices and selling prices of companies also published on Wednesday are lower than expected.
Commodity and energy prices fell 1.2% in August from July, their first drop in two years, thanks to the decline in oil prices.
Business selling prices also fell slightly month-on-month. (Report David Milliken, French version Marc Angrand, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)