Failure to grasp UK inflation drivers will continue to keep prices high

Treasury staff have failed to produce any studies examining why food inflation remains a significant factor. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Inflation is falling, but not as fast as everyone hoped. The Bank of England expected a bigger drop and so did the majority of City analysts.

A fall in the consumer prices index (CPI) to 8.7% in April from 10.1% in March put an end to the UK’s long period of double-digit price rises but was not the 8.2% analysts forecast.