New figures from the Office for National Statistics this morning will bring a smile to Rishi’s face – for the first time in a while.  CPI inflation fell to 3.4%, its lowest since September 2021. The figure is quite a bit lower than analysts and the Bank of England expected. Now it looks like Rishi will hit more than just his 2% goal, with analysts saying it could ease toward 1% in April…

Meanwhile core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also fell more than expected to 4.5%. Despite all this, the Bank of England looks likely to maintain interest rates at the record high 5.25% on Thursday. Sigh…