Inflation fell from its recent highs in August as diesel and petrol prices dropped over the month, but still remains close to its 40-year record. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Prices Index inflation reached 9.9 per cent in the year to August, down from 10.1 per cent the previous month.
Experts had expected the figure to be unchanged between the two months. The ONS said the biggest downward pressure on the inflation rate was the price of motor fuels, which has been falling in recent months.
The 6.8 per cent drop in fuel prices was the highest since between March and April 2020, the early days of the pandemic when oil prices briefly went negative on some markets.
Earlier this year, the Bank of England said inflation could hit 13 per cent this year. The rise in the cost of goods is mainly due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The ONS said: "The easing in the annual inflation rate in August 2022 reflected principally a fall in the price of motor fuels in the transport part of the index. Smaller, partially offsetting, upward effects came from price rises for food and non-alcoholic beverages, miscellaneous goods and services, and clothing and footwear."
The figures mark a positive trend for the first time in more than a year. Inflation has risen every month since September 2021, according to the official figures.
It has piled pressure on households around the country, whose cost of living has rocketed, largely as a result of soaring energy costs. No part of the economy has escaped the energy crisis, which has helped push up prices of food and other items.
Experts believe that the support on energy bills announced by the Government last week will ensure that inflation does not reach the concerning highs that had been forecast.
According to one prediction, CPI inflation could have peaked above 20 per cent as energy bills continued to rise. But bills will be capped at £2,500 per year for the average household for the next two years, new Prime Minister Liz Truss announced on Thursday.
Without that support bills had at most been forecast to rise to £7,700 for the average family.
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