The rate of inflation dropped slightly in December, figures released on Wednesday morning have shown. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the Consumer Prices Index descreased to 10.5% in December compared to 10.7% in November.
The fall in the price of petrol and diesel was noted as a factor, although other transport costs increased, said the ONS. The figure is still high and well above the Bank of England's 2% target.
Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics (ONS), said: "Inflation eased slightly in December, although still at a very high level, with overall prices rising strongly during the last year as a whole. Prices at the pump fell notably in December, with the cost of clothing also dropping back slightly.
"However, this was offset by increases for coach and air fares as well as overnight hotel accommodation. Food costs continue to spike, with prices also rising in shops, cafes and restaurants."
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: "High inflation is a nightmare for family budgets, destroys business investment and leads to strike action, so however tough, we need to stick to our plan to bring it down. While any fall in inflation is welcome, we have a plan to go further and halve inflation this year, reduce debt and grow the economy - but it is vital that we take the difficult decisions needed and see the plan through. To help families in the meantime, we are providing an average of £3,500 of support for every household over this year and next."
Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said "13 years of wasted opportunities under the Tories have left our economy weak and families worse off" as she pointed out the latest figure was still five times the 2% target.
"We do not have to continue on this path of managed decline," she said. "Labour will stabilise our economy and get it growing."
Immigration minister Robert Jenrick described the slight fall in an inflation figure as a "tentative sign of improvement".
He told Sky News: "It's the first positive or tentative signs of improvement. But there's a long way to go here. We are seeing there's an improving situation internationally as energy prices begin to fall, but I don't want to overstate how impactful that will be in the short term."
