UK inflation falls to 1.7% in September

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the UK inflation myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

UK inflation fell more than expected to 1.7 per cent in September, opening the door to more Bank of England interest rate cuts before the end of the year.

The annual increase in consumer prices is less than the 1.9 per cent predicted in a Reuters survey of economists and compares with August’s figure of 2.2 per cent.

Wednesday’s data release by the Office for National Statistics shows that inflation has come back under the BoE’s 2 per cent target.

Core inflation was 3.2 per cent, lower than economists’ expectation of 3.4 per cent.

In comments that investors see as a signal that the BoE could cut rates at both its November and December meetings, governor Andrew Bailey said recently that rate-setters could be “a bit more aggressive” in lowering borrowing costs if inflation continued to fall.

The BoE cut rates by a quarter point in August. But it held them at 5 per cent at its September meeting while suggesting a further reduction in November.

This is a developing story