Rishi Sunak has taken credit drop for a sharp drop in inflation, after new figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed it had fallen to a two year low.

Consumer Prices Index inflation fell to 4.6% in October, down from 6.7% in September.

Suren Thiru, economics director at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, said the fall owed “more to the downward pressure on prices from falling energy costs and rising interest rates than any Government action.”

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Nevertheless, the Prime Minister said he had “delivered” on a promise at the start of the year to cut inflation to below 5.4% by the end of the year.

He said: “In January I made halving inflation this year my top priority. I did that because it is, without a doubt, the best way to ease the cost of living and give families financial security.

“Today, we have delivered on that pledge.”

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Government should not be “popping champagne corks” about the drop in inflation, with people still struggling with the cost of living.

“After 13 years of economic failure under the Conservatives, working people are worse off with higher mortgage bills, prices still rising in the shops and inflation twice as high as the Bank of England’s target,” she said.

The ONS’s chief economist Grant Fitzner said: “Inflation fell substantially on the month as last year’s steep rise in energy costs has been followed by a small reduction in the energy price cap this year.

“Food prices were little changed on the month, after rising this time last year, while hotel prices fell, both helping to push inflation to its lowest rate for two years.

“The cost of goods leaving factories rose on the month. However, the annual growth was slightly negative, led by petroleum and basic metal products.”

The latest figures also showed the CPI measure of inflation including housing costs (CPIH) was 4.7% last month, down from 6.3% in September.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) meanwhile slowed to 6.1% from 8.9% in the previous month.

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The drop in inflation comes ahead of next week’s Autumn Statement, where Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will set out his tax and spending plans for the next year.

With a general election expected in the coming months, he is under pressure from his colleagues on the backbenches to cut taxes.

Former home secretary Dame Priti Patel said: “Halving inflation is a positive step forward for our economy.

“So, now is the time to be Conservative and give the British people what they deserve: a tax break!”

However, Mr Sunak stressed the need to continue to bear down on inflation to get it to the Bank of England’s 2% target.

The Prime Minister said: “Inflation works like a tax. It eats into the pound in your pocket, affecting the price of your food shop, your mortgage, the size of your pension pot.

“This is why halving inflation has been my number one priority.

“Getting it down has involved hard decisions and fiscal discipline.”

He added: “While it is welcome news that prices are no longer rising as quickly, we know many people are continuing to struggle, which is why we must stay the course to continue to get inflation all the way back down to 2%.”