Inflation CPI 2.40%, RPI 2.30%

The rate of inflation fell for the first time this year in April, pulling back from 2.8% to 2.4% as cheaper fuel and transport costs pushed down the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

CPI had been stable over the past six months and this is the first fall in CPI since last September. The Retail Prices Index fell from 2.7% to 2.3%, while the rate of CPIH growth, the new measure of consumer price inflation that includes housing costs, fell from 2.6% in March to 2.2%.

Transport price movements accounted for almost three quarters of the fall in the growth rate as prices fell by 0.6% month-on-month, compared to a 1.2% rise between the same two months last year. Petrol and diesel prices both fell as the price of Brent crude slipped by 6.8% and air fares came down 6.4%. The only notable rise came from food and non-alcoholic beverages where prices rose by 0.7% month-on-month compared to a 0.1% fall over the same period last year.