October saw UK's inflation rate drop to 4.6%, below expectations

According to official data released on Wednesday, the annual consumer price inflation (CPI) in Britain decreased from 6.7% in September to a less-than-expected 4.6% in October.

Consumer price growth was at its lowest level since October 2021.

Both the Bank of England staff forecast and the consensus result of an economists' poll conducted by Reuters had indicated a reading of 4.8%.

Core inflation over the year dropped from 6.1% to 5.7%.

For Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who pledged to cut price growth this year in advance of the anticipated 2024 election that polls indicate his Conservative Party is likely to lose, the data represented some very unusual and welcome news.

Huw Pill, the chief economist at the Bank of England, stated on Tuesday that although inflation is predicted to drop to slightly under 5%, it will still remain "much too high" despite the fact that price growth has more than halved in the last year.

Even as the economy stagnates on the verge of a recession, the BoE has made a point of emphasising that it is not in the slightest bit lowering interest rates from their 15-year high.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)