© Reuters. Road construction workers carry out work outside the Bank of England in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, February 13, 2024. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) – British consumer price inflation unexpectedly held steady at an annual rate of 4.0% in January, unchanged from December, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday in a boost for the Bank of England.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an increase to 4.2%.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile food, energy, alcohol and tobacco prices, was also unchanged at 5.1%.
But services inflation – an indicator of domestic price pressures closely watched by the BoE as it considers when to start cutting interest rates – rose to 6.5% from 6.4% in December.
Sterling weakened against the dollar and the euro immediately after the inflation data was published.