Annual inflation in the UK in April slowed to 2.4%

Investing.com – In April of this year consumer prices in the UK increased by 0.4% compared to the previous month and by 2.4% compared to April last year, according to the National Statistic Office (ONS) of the country.

Analysts on average expected the rise of the first indicator by 0.5%, the second – by 2.5%, according to Trading Economics.

In March, the rise in prices was 0.1% and 2.5%, respectively.

The growth of consumer prices remains above the target level of the Bank of England at 2% for fifteen months in a row. The annual increase in April was minimal for the last 13 months. One of the factors was the decrease in the cost of air tickets, since this year Easter fell in March, and in 2017 – in April.

The CPI Core index, which does not include food, alcohol, tobacco and energy prices, was 2.1% last month, compared to 2.3% in March. Experts expected a slowdown in growth to 2.2%.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages in April decreased by 0.2% in monthly terms. Clothing and footwear went up by 0.4%, alcohol and tobacco products – by 0.8%, transport services – by 1%.

At the same time, the cost of soft drinks jumped by 2.8% compared to March, which was a record increase during the settlement. This was due to the introduction of a tax on high sugar content in soda.

Retail prices (index RPI) rose last month by 3.4% compared with April 2017 and by 0.5% compared to March of this year. It is the RPI index used by British employers in negotiating wages. The difference in the dynamics of the CPI and RPI indices is due to the inclusion of housing costs in the RPI, as well as different weights of air fares, insurance and gasoline prices.

Also, ONS reported on Wednesday that the growth in house prices in the UK in March remained at around 4.2% in annual terms. Data for February were revised to 4.2% from the previously announced at 4.4%.