U.K. consumer inflation surprisingly slows in October on subdued clothing, education sectors

Consumer inflation in the United Kingdom unexpectedly slowed during the month of October, following pressure from the clothing and education sectors.

Consumer-price growth was 0.9 percent compared with 1 percent in September, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday. The rate was forecast by economists to accelerate to 1.1 percent. Prices rose 0.1 percent on the month, the same as a year earlier.

Further, core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices slowed to 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent. Inflation including owner-occupier housing, now the ONS’s preferred measure, was unchanged at 1.2 percent.

It came as input prices surged by 4.6 percent, the biggest monthly gain since records began. On the year, prices rose 12.2 percent, with the cost of imported goods and fuel surging 14.1 percent, the most since 2011.however, house-price growth was unchanged at 7.7 percent in September.

In contrast, fuel prices jumped 2.3 percent during the month of October, while clothing and tuition fees witnessed a slower growth last month. Despite a weaker domestic currency, inflation ceased to rise in the previous month. However, the pressure on companies to raise prices is building.

The cost of goods leaving factory gates rose by 0.6 percent from September, taking the annual rate to 2.1 percent, the fastest since April 2012. Meanwhile, the Bank of England (BoE) foresees inflation to reach 2.4 percent in the second quarter and remaining above target until the end of the decade.

At 11:25GMT, the EUR/USD currency pair  was 0.36 percent higher at 1.08, compared to previous close of 1.07, while at 11:00GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Euro Strength Index remained neutral at -27.88 (higher than the benchmark of -75 for bearish trend).