UK inflation levels fell to 2.4% in September, driven in part by lower food prices.
The Office For National Statistics (ONS) said inflation in September fell to 2.4%, compared to 2.7% back in August.
This was attributed to lower prices for both food and non-alcoholic drinks.
Moreover, the ONS said that transport also had a marked impact upon the dip, with passenger fares showing larger price falls between August and September than a year ago.
Mike Hardie, head of inflation at the ONS, said: “Food was the main downward pull on inflation as last year’s September price rises failed to reappear, while ferry prices dropped after their surprisingly high summer peak.
“However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic with energy suppliers pushing up their prices.”
These statistics follow recently released official figures, which revealed that wages rose on average 3.1%. This marked the fastest pace of wage growth in a decade.
Specifically, the ONS said unemployment fell by 47,000 to 1.36 million. Meanwhile, unemployment rate remained at a 43-year low of 4%.
Pay growth – excluding bonuses – was up from 2.9% from the previous period.
The Chancellor is set to deliver his highly-anticipated Autumn budget on the 29th of October, which will no doubt tackle inflation.
Ahead of the budget, The British Retail Consortium (BRC) have called upon the government to take action on business rates.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Retailers need the forthcoming Budget to reduce the cost burden on retail businesses. This will incentivise innovation and support the industry in creating quality jobs and providing great choice for consumers at competitive prices – future-proofing retail to ensure the best is made of the opportunities and challenges thrown up by transformation.
“The business taxation system is in urgent need of reform but any shift to an online sales tax would represent a double jeopardy for many retailers who are responding to customer demand and investing in online retailing. Eight out of the top 10 online retailers also have physical stores.”
The high-street has been particularly struggling as of late, with 2017 marking the worst start for the year for retail in five years.
