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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Business
Ellie Kemp

What the inflation rate drop means for cost of living, interest rates and your bills

The rate of inflation in the UK has dropped slightly, to 10.7 percent from the 11.1 percent recorded in October.

However, the rate still remains high - and close to October's 41-year-record. Some experts might declare that the worst of the cost of living crisis has passed, but all the interest rate fall means is that prices are rising at a marginally lower rate than before - not that prices themselves are falling.

It has come as little relief for households and businesses, who are still facing eye-watering prices across the board.

Read more: Martin Lewis' MSE's 1p tip for keeping warm without the heating on - and other ways to heat your home

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the decline in the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) was driven by falls in the price of petrol and diesel, as well as second-hand cars. But the price of alcoholic drinks in restaurants, hotels, cafes and pubs all went up, with just weeks to go before Christmas.

November's inflation figures might give hope that the peak has passed. Economists believe that price rises will continue to slow over the coming months. But it's not for certain and price rises still aren't slowing down across the board.

Alcohol prices increased ahead of Christmas (Shared Content Unit)

Food inflation hit a 45-year high last month of 16.4%, while power costs remain elevated. Energy bills will go up again in April when the Energy Price Guarantee headline figure of £2,500 a year for the typical household rises to £3,000.

Unfortunately, wages aren't keeping up with inflation either, with pay rises still falling behind price hikes. Official figures showed that regular pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 6.1% in the three months to October – but this marked a 3.9% drop after CPI inflation is taken into account.

As for interest rates, The Bank of England will no doubt be encouraged by November’s inflation fall. But there's no sign of any easing just yet, with inflation still five times higher than the Bank of England target of 2 percent.

Economists predict the bank will still look to hike interest rates once again on Thursday (November 15), from 3% to 3.5% to help rein in inflation further. But some believe the pace of hikes will slow after this month, with inflation abating and the UK expected to be in a recession throughout 2023.

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