Inflation in the United Kingdom remained at 4% in January, posting a better result than economists had forecast.
Economists polled by the Reuters news agency had expected the annual rate of inflation to rise to 4.2% in January.
The core inflation rate, which excludes volatile food, energy, alcohol, and tobacco prices, was also unchanged in January from December at 5.1%, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Food inflation fell across the United Kingdom for the first time since September 2021, dropping by 0.4% from December levels.
Service inflation, which is an indicator of domestic price pressures, rose to 6.5% in January from 6.4% in December, but was also not as strong as forecast.
Consumer prices in Britain are now down from a peak of 11.1% reached in October 2022. In response, the Bank of England raised interest rates to their highest level in 16 years.
Traders are now putting a 72% chance of an interest rate cut in Britain occurring in June of this year, up from 40% a week ago.
The Pound Sterling weakened against the U.S. dollar and Euro currency after the January inflation data was made public.
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