Core inflation in Britain remains high meaning that the cost of services and commodities will still bite Britons despite overall inflation falling.
Core inflation, which reflects the change in prices of goods and services, except for those from the food and energy sectors, rose by 6.9 percent in the 12 months to July 2023, unchanged from June.
Matthew Corder, deputy director of prices at the Office of National Statistics, said: “Inflation slowed markedly for the second consecutive month, driven by falls in the price of gas and electricity as the reduction in the energy price cap came into effect. Although remaining high, food price inflation has also eased again, particularly for milk, bread and cereal.
“Core inflation was unchanged in July, with the falling cost of goods offset by higher service prices.”
The surge in prices has continued to fall and is down from 7.9 percent in June, which fell from 8.7 percent in May.
But Victor Trokoudes, CEO and founder at smart money app Plum, said that inflation easing doesn’t mean that people should take their eyes off their finances.
Mr Trokoudes told Express.co.uk: “With high interest rates here to stay for at least the short term, mortgage holders will be looking to shore up their finances and cut costs now to afford higher payments when they need to remortgage.
“And, while inflation remains high too, it’s more important than ever to make sure your savings are earning decent returns.”
And James Longley, managing director at Utility Bidder, pointed out that prices were still rising and would not be dropping any time soon.
He said: “As part of Utility Bidder’s 2023 Inflation Report, we found that for recent CPI scores from June 2023, the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages has risen by 17.37 percent over the past year which is more than any other service.
“These are essential goods for day-to-day living and there is no sign of prices going down on the shelves anytime soon.”
Mr Longley warned Britons to prepare financially and spoke of tough months ahead. He said: “The UK economy grew by a marginal amount of 0.2 percent between April and June, but recession threats still loom large.
Today’s Consumer Price and Retail Index announcements came after the Prime Minister said yesterday there is “light at the end of the tunnel” in the cost-of-living crisis as official figures are set to reveal another slowdown in inflation.
Rishi Sunak’s remarks followed another record increase in wages placed further pressure on the Bank of England to grapple with inflation and continue with recent increases to interest rates.
The PM said the Government will “stick to the plan” irrespective of the latest inflation reading, as he seeks to meet his pledge to halve the inflation rate this year.
He said: “The best way to be able to bring interest rates down and stop them going up is to bring inflation down. That’s why my first priority of my five priorities is to halve inflation.
“We are making progress, the last set of numbers we had showed that inflation was falling faster than people expected.
“We’ve got work to do, we’ll get more numbers tomorrow, but it’s important that we stick to the plan.
“The plan is working. I think there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“If we get through this, people will really start to see the benefit in their bank accounts, in their pockets, as inflation starts to fall.”
