The UK’s inflation rate eased to 10.5% in December 2022, down from 10.7% in November, new figures show.
It’s the latest indication that the UK might have passed the peak of inflation, with the measure continuing to drop after hitting a 41-year high of 11.1% in October.
Lower prices for petrol and diesel were a contributing factor, along with cheaper clothing and footwear, and recreation and culture, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
High costs for food including milk, cheese and eggs kept inflation close to a 40-year high.
Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 16.9% in the 12 months to December 2022, up from 16.5% in November. Food inflation has been rising for 17 consecutive months and is now the highest recorded since 1977.
Higher prices in restaurants and hotels and a record rise in air fares were also behind December’s inflation figure.
“It is important to point out although we’ve seen a second consecutive easing, it is fairly modest fall and inflation is still at a very high level with overall prices rising strongly,” Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, told the BBC’s Today programme.
