UK inflation slowed down for the second month in a row in March on the back of falling petrol prices, according to official figures
Slowing inflation proves the government’s plan is working, Rachel Reeves says – promising Mirror readers: “This government has got your back.”
UK inflation slowed down for the second month in a row in March on the back of falling petrol prices, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said a drop in the price of computer games contributed to the lower inflation reading. The rate of Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation eased to 2.6% for the month, from 2.8% in February, the statistics body said.
It was a steeper fall than predicted by economists, who had expected a reading of 2.7% for March, and marks the lowest reading since December.
Writing for the Mirror, the Chancellor said: “This is a Government that is on the side of working people. We will keep fighting for you every single day. Security for working people and renewal for Britain. That’s our promise and that is what we will deliver.”
The bigger-than-expected drop in inflation moves the figure closer to the Bank of England’s 2% target rate.
The reading is also likely to increase calls for interest rates – which are typically kept high to help bring inflation down – to be reduced from their current rate of 4.5% at the Bank’s next rate-setting meeting in May.
The ONS’s preferred measure of inflation, Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing (CPIH), eased back to 3.4% for March, from 3.7% the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate of inflation declined to 3.2% from 3.4%.
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‘This government has got your back’
By RACHEL REEVES, Chancellor of the Exchequer
The world is changing, and I know how unsettling this will be for families struggling with the cost living.
But in a changing world I want to be clear that this Government has your back.
Our Plan for Change is working.
The economy grew strongly in February, real wages are continuing to higher than prices and – yesterday – we learnt that inflation fell for a second month in a row.
However, we cannot be complacent. The cost-of-living crisis is still very real for Mirror readers and their families, and I’m determined we go further and faster to put more pounds in your pockets.
That’s why we have given a pay boost to three million people by increasing the national living wage. It’s why we are rolling out breakfast clubs in every primary school to save the average household £450 a year. And it’s why we have frozen fuel duty and protected people’s payslips from higher taxes.
This is a Government that is on the side of working people. We will keep fighting for you every single day. Security for working people and renewal for Britain. That’s our promise and that is what we will deliver.
