UK inflation seen steady at 2.8% in October

Inflation in Britain is likely to have been steady in October but well above the Bank of England's government-set target of 2…

Inflation in Britain is likely to have been steady in October but well above the Bank of England's government-set target of 2.5 per cent for the 12th month running.

Analysts expect rising food and oil prices to have been partly offset by the fact that oil companies delayed passing the higher fuel costs to consumers, leaving retail price inflation steady.

The retail price index report, to be released tomorrow, is most likely to be consistent with the Bank of England's latest quarterly inflation report in which it raised its growth and inflation forecasts.

Sixteen economists polled by Reuters news agency predicted on average that RPIX retail price inflation, which excludes the cost of home loans, remained at an annual 2.8 per cent in October - unchanged from the previous month.

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They forecast the headline RPI inflation was steady at 2.8 per cent in the same month. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which will soon replace RPIX as the targeted measure of inflation, is expected to stand at 1.4 per cent, unchanged from September.