Rate rise remains likely despite surprise inflation fall to 6.7%

Headline Consumer Prices Index (CPI) infaltion fell 0.1 percentage points month-on-month in July, while core CPI, excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, fell 0.7 percentage points to 6.2%. Food inflation remains well above the headline rate but has also fallen, down to 13.6% from last month's 14.9% figure. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt argued the fall demonstrated the government's plan to halve inflation is "working - plain and simple", but noted it remains "too high" and a barrier to sustainably higher growth. While Premier Miton Investors chief investment officer Neil Birrell, sai...