The consumer price index (CPI) rate of inflation for November has fallen to 3.2 per cent, from 3.8 per cent, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This comes as welcome relief to Chancellor Rachel Reeves who has been forced to contend with a slip in gross domestic product (GDP) growth and a rise in unemployment over the past week.

Today’s dip in the CPI inflation rate comes a day before the Bank of England’s next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which will determine the cost of borrowing for interest rates.

Tom Stevenson, an investment director at Fidelity International, noted that inflation still remains way above the central bank’s desired target, signalling a “slowdown” in the economy.

He shared: “Britain is caught between a slowing economy and still persistent inflation. Last week we learned that the UK economy contracted by 0.1 per cent both in the month of October and for the three months to October. GDP had contracted by a similar amount in September.”

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