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The largest downward contributions to the monthly change in inflation came from food, and restaurants and cafes, the ONS says.
Today’s inflation report shows that prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 5.0% in the year to February 2024, down from 6.9% in January.
Overall, prices for bread and cereals rose by 0.3% on the month, compared with a rise of 2.3% between January and February 2023. Prices of packs of cakes and some bread products (for example, white sliced loaves) fell between January and February this year but rose a year ago. The resulting annual rate for bread and cereals in February 2024 was 6.0%, the lowest observed since March 2022.
Other smaller downward effects came from classes such as meat, vegetables, and milk, cheese and eggs. Overall, the annual rate eased in 10 of the 11 food and non-alcoholic beverages classes with oils and fats the exception; its annual rate rising from 8.0% in January to 8.3% in February 2024.