Rishi Sunak insists he is within touching distance of halving inflation as rate remains stubbornly high
RISHI Sunak insisted he was within touching distance of halving inflation — as the rate remained stubbornly high due to rising fuel prices.
It held steady at 6.7 per cent last month despite forecasts of a slight dip.
The price of milk, cheese and eggs, along with household appliances and airfares, did all ease in September.
But this was offset by petrol costs which spiked by 5.1p a litre to 153.6p to the fury of motorists.
In January, the Prime Minister pledged to halve inflation from 10.7 per cent to 5.3 per cent by the end of the year.
Yesterday he said: “Tackling inflation remains my number one priority. We’ll stick to our plan and get it done.”
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt added that inflation “rarely falls in a straight line” but “if we stick to our plan, we expect it to keep falling”.
But experts warned that Mr Sunak’s vow could fall apart if volatility in the Middle East affects the energy wholesale prices. Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics, said the conflict may have “impacts on supply”.
Meanwhile, the Government last night refused to confirm how much the state pension would go up under the triple lock mechanism, in this month’s spending review.
It rises each April by the highest of inflation, wages or 2.5 per cent.
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But ministers may opt to strip bonuses out of the wage growth figure — taking it from 8.5 to 7.8 per cent and saving around £900million.