UK inflation rate of 1.2% is lowest in five years
14th October 2014

UK inflation fell to a five-year low of 1.2% in September from 1.5% the month before, official figures show.
The rate - as measured by the Consumer Prices Index - is the lowest since September 2009, when it was 1.1%.
Lower energy and food prices helped to cut the rate, while the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also cited cheaper transport costs as a factor.

The Retail Prices Index measure of inflation fell to 2.3% from 2.4% in August.
The CPI is the rate the Bank of England targets and it is charged with keeping inflation at about 2%.
The UK economy is the fastest growing in the developed world, something that would normally prompt a rise in interest rates.

While some economists had speculated that the Bank of England might raise interest rates from the current record low of 0.5% before the end of the year, most had expected a rise early next year.

However, the latest inflation figures means a rate rise could be pushed back further.

Chancellor George Osborne says the figures are "a double dose of good economic news"

Despite the fall in inflation, average income is not keeping up. Last month's official figures showed average earnings, excluding bonuses, in the May to July period rose by 0.7% from a year earlier.

New figures on employment and income are being released on Wednesday,

Until December last year, the CPI had outstripped the Bank's 2% target every month for five years.
It has now been below that for nine months in a row.