Latest Figures Show UK Inflation Fell During February

The annual rate of inflation in Britain fell to 1.3% during February, taking it further below the Bank of England’s 2.0% target, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics.

The Government’s preferred consumer prices index (CPI) dropped by a tenth of a percentage point last month. The decline was prompted by a lack of significant price cutting in the January sales, which meant no large rise when it came to pricing goods in February.

Meanwhile, the UK’s previously targeted underlying Retail Prices Index rate of inflation, which excludes mortgage repayments, fell to 2.3% in February, down from 2.4% in the previous month.

The headline rate of RPI inflation, which excludes mortgage interest payments, fell by a tenth of a percentage point to 2.5% in February.

The latest figures are good news for the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is hoping to give an upbeat view of the economy when he announces the 2004 budget on Wednesday. Consumer inflation has now been below the Government’s target since May 1998.

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