Petrol Prices Fail to Push Up Inflation Rate

By NO BYLINE

INFLATION remained un-changed last month despite high petrol pump prices, official figures revealed today.

The key Consumer Prices Index held at 1.9 per cent in January – the same level as December after that month’s figure was revised down from two per cent in a one-off “re-basing” move by the Office for National Statistics.

It means that inflation has been below the Bank of England’s two per cent target for the last two months.

Today’s figure for January came in lower than the 2.1 to 2.2 per cent rate which was forecast by many economists.

And it could ease concerns within the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee over rising inflation and lead to a further cut in interest rates.

Meanwhile, the underlying rate of Retail Price Inflation was up to 2.3 per cent in January from two per cent in December, while the headline rate – which includes mortgage interest payments – rose to 2.4 per cent from 2.2 per cent.