Office for National Statistics

The UK's main inflation rate fell back towards the 2% target in August after reversing a surprise jump the previous month.

The Office for National Statistics has revised up its estimate of second quarter growth from a 0.7% contraction to a fall of 0.5%.

Official GDP figures for the second quarter will be revised later today after better-than expected construction and industrial production figures.

UK retail sales have posted a surprise rise in July, up 0.3% from June, beating analysts' expectations of a more modest 0.1% increase.

The UK's unemployment rate fell in the second quarter of the year, from 8.2% to 8%, although the number of young jobseekers climbed over the period.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate of inflation climbed to 2.6% last month, from 2.4% in June.

Capital Economics expects the Bank of England to cut the UK's base rate from 0.5% in an effort to stimulate growth, after last week's GDP figure showed the economy is shrinking faster than feared.

The UK economy shrank by 0.7% in the second quarter of the year, a far worse contraction than economists had forecast, keeping the UK mired in recession.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to 2.4% in June, from 2.8% in May, official figures show.

ANNUITIES