Inflation fell to its lowest level for more than a year in October, plunging to 2.2%, official figures showed today.
A petrol pump price war that saw 4.9p cut from a litre of fuel, together with a smaller contribution for tuition fees, helped the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate fall from 2.7% in September.
The sharper-than-expected drop took CPI to a level not seen since September 2012, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed. It has not been lower since November 2009.
The figures will ease pressure on the Bank of England as it strives to meet its inflation target of 2%, and ponders the outlook for its flagship low-interest rate policy.
Recently-announced energy price hikes of around 9% have yet to take effect and are likely to have an upward impact on the rate later this year.
A separate measure of inflation, the retail prices index (RPI), fell from 3.2% in September to 2.6% in October.
The ONS said transport prices overall fell 1.5% month-on-month in October with the main contribution coming from fuel price cuts at many major supermarket chains as wholesale prices fell.
There were also downward contributions from air fares and prices for secondhand cars.
In education, the impact of rising tuition fees was smaller than at the same time last year because many students were already paying the higher rate.
Food inflation fell from 4.8% to 4.3%, easing some pressure on household costs.
An experimental measure of inflation, CPIH, which includes housing costs, fell from 2.5% to 2%. Another experimental measure, RPIJ, fell to 1.9% from 2.5% in September.
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