Inflation has slowed to 2% meeting the Bank of England target for the first time in almost 3 years
Figures released this morning from the Office of National Statistics Tlargest downward contribution to the monthly change came from food, with prices falling this year but rising a year ago; the largest upward contribution came from motor fuels, with prices rising slightly this year but falling a year ago
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves welcomed the news but addef that she is not going to say “everything is fine”.
“For many people, the cost of living crisis is still acute and very real” she told the BBC
Rebecca Florisson, Principal Analyst, Work Foundation at Lancaster University commenting on the figures said:
For the first time in nearly three years, inflation has hit the Bank of England’s 2% inflation target.But this shouldn’t fool the next Government, workers are still facing much higher prices for their daily essentials than they were a few years ago.
“As the rate of inflation falls, the good news is the wage recovery is continuing. Workers now have more money in their pockets than they did last year with real nominal wage growth of 2.3% on the year.
“But the bad news is that most people are feeling poorer than when they voted in the last General Election nearly five years ago. This is the first Parliament since 1955 where living standards have declined – attributable to wage stagnation alongside wider impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine and political choices.
“And for many workers the cost of living crisis is not over yet. Interest rates remain at their highest level for 16 years at 5.25%, which is creating a cost of housing squeeze for many private renters and mortgage holders – with low paid and insecure workers hit hardest.
