Britain’s inflation rate has fallen to its lowest rate in over three and a half years last month, due to a drop in energy prices and discounting by shops desperate to sell stock during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The Consumer Price Index plunged to just 0.8% year-on-year in April, the Office for National Statistics reports, down from 1.5% per year in March.
The ONS said;
- Falling energy and fuel pump prices resulted in the largest downward contributions to the change in the inflation rate between March and April 2020.
- Rising prices for recreational goods resulted in a partially offsetting upward contribution to change.
The ONS said, “For garments, prices overall fell by 2.3% between March and April 2020 compared with a small increase of 0.4% a year ago. There were a greater number of items recorded as being discounted this year, when compared with April 2019, with reductions across a range of women’s and men’s clothing items.
“The larger number of items recorded as being on sale could reflect retailers’ efforts to encourage online purchases or potential difficulties as a result of the current economic situation.”
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