LONDON — U.K. inflation fell to a lower-than-expected 2.5% in December, with core price growth slowing further, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 2.6% in November, with economists polled by Reuters expecting the December reading to stay unchanged.
Core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, came in at 3.2% in the twelve months to December, down from 3.5% in November.
The U.K.’s inflation rate had hit a more than three-year low of 1.7% in September, with monthly prices picking up since on the back of higher fuel costs and of services fees rising rising faster than the price of goods. In December, the annual services inflation rate stood at 4.4%, down from 5% in November.
The British poundwas up 0.1% against the dollar at 08:15 a.m. London time, reversing an initial decline earlier in the session, …