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Consumer prices rose by an annual 1.3 percent in
October, in line with economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll
and slightly higher than September's 1.2 percent, the Office for
National Statistics said on Tuesday.
The pound, which has weakened recently against the dollar as the
prospect of rate hikes moved further away, rose slightly.
Many economists predict inflation will resume its decline soon,
in part because of falling oil prices.
The Bank of England also said last week inflation might fall to
below 1 percent over the next six months and that it expects
annual price growth to hit its target of 2 percent only towards
the end of its three-year outlook period.
Partly as a result, financial markets are now expecting the BoE
to start raising rates only in late 2015 or possibly later.
The slump in inflation in recent months has given some respite
to British households. Earnings rose by more than prices in
September, even if only slightly.
Transport costs fell in October but by less than they did a year
ago, pushing up the overall yearly inflation rate. Higher prices
for computer games also contributed to inflation's rise.
The ONS said food and non-alcoholic beverage prices fell 1.4
percent, marking the longest run of declines for those goods
since 2000 as supermarkets engage in a price war and global food
costs fall.
Core inflation held steady at 1.5 percent in October.
The ONS said factory gate prices fell 0.5 percent, indicating a
lack of inflation pressure, and input prices fell by 8.4
percent, the biggest decline since September 2009.
Separate ONS data showed house prices in Britain rose 12.1
percent in yearly terms in September, compared with an increase
of 11.7 percent in August. Other, more up-to-date surveys have
shown the rapid pace of house price growth starting to cool.
In London, property prices rose by 18.8 percent in September,
slowing from an increase of 19.6 percent in August.
(Writing by William Schomberg Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
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