JEREMY HUNT SPEAKS ON INFLATION – Chancellor of the Exchequer says there’s still further to go after inflation fell last month
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that there was “still further to go” on tackling inflation, after data showed it fell last month.
“There’s still further to go. Inflation never falls in a straight line,” Hunt told reporters.
British inflation plunged in November to its lowest rate in over two years, prompting investors to pile further into bets that the Bank of England will cut interest rates next year.
The annual rate of increase in the consumer prices index dropped to 3.9% from 4.6% in October, pushed down in part by petrol prices, for its lowest reading since September 2021, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday.
However, British consumer prices have risen since 2020 by almost 21% – more than any other Group of Seven advanced economies and the joint-highest increase in Western Europe.
BoE officials have been cautious about whether recent signs of cooling inflation truly represent a sign that persistent, longer-run price pressures are receding.
Hunt said the data showed inflation pressures were being removed from the economy. Opposition Labour Party spokeswoman Rachel Reeves said people were worse off after 13 years of Conservative government.
