Inflation beats expectations with 0.5% rise in March

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew by 0.5%, lifted by rises in air fares and clothing prices, while economists were expecting a rise of 0.4%. Meanwhile, the CPIH, which includes house prices, was up 0.7% in the year to March 2016, an increase from 0.6% in February. Upward pressures were partially offset by a fall in food prices and a smaller rise in petrol prices than a year ago. Sterling responded positively to the data, rising 0.5% against the US dollar to $1.43090. However, the FTSE 100 remained in the red, down 0.4% to 6,177 points in morning trading. Inflation has slowly b...