22/05/2012

UK Inflation Down To 3%

The UK inflation rate fell last month to its lowest in years, but the Bank of England warned that eurozone troubles would keep prices rising.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate fell 5% to 3% in March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

But the Bank of England recently said CPI inflation would stay above the 2% target "for the next year or so" and governor Sir Mervyn King said the "storm" in the eurozone was a threat to UK recovery.

The CPI figure has not been at 3% since February 2010 and it peaked at 5.2% in September last year.

The ONS said that slower price rises than usual in the transport, clothing and off-license sectors had led to the slight drop.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "This is a welcome relief to families with tight budgets."

But TUC general secretary Brendan Barber argued that pay was still lagging behind.

He said: "With earnings growing by just 0.6%, people are still getting poorer every month. We need falling inflation to be matched with far better pay rises to get people's incomes growing again. This will only happen when our economy is moving in the right direction."

There were some price increases between March and April in restaurants and hotels, as well as for those renting a home, the ONS said.

And low inflation rates on accounts still leave most people unable to earn a real rate of return on their cash.

(NE)

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