Inflation fell to 2.2 per cent in October from 2.7 per cent the month before as falling fuel costs drove the lowest figure since September 2012.
The fall was driven by falling petrol and diesel prices after supermarket Asda cut the price of unleaded fuel to 126.7p and 133.7p diesel last week, 5p cheaper than the average, with Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury‘s promptly announcing their own reductions.
“Falling petrol and diesel prices seem to have done the most to drag the inflation rate down, and the ongoing softness in Brent crude prices means there may be a little more of this to come in the months ahead,” economist Rob Carnell at ING told the BBC.
Core inflation, which excludes items such as Food inflation also fell from 4.8 per cent to 4.3 per cent.
The results will please the government as an upcoming rise in interest rates was tipped by specialists.
The retail prices index (RPI) fell from 3.2 per cent in September to 2.6 per cent in October, bringing the Bank of England‘s inflation target of 2 per cent closer.
The latest data showed unemployment was 7.7 per cent, down 18,000 from March to May 2013.
