Britain's annual inflation rate slowed more than expected in November to 3.2 percent, official data showed Wednesday, cementing expectations that the Bank of England will cut its main interest rate this week.
The Consumer Prices Index dropped from 3.6 percent in October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.
The analysts' consensus forecast had been for inflation of 3.5 percent in November.
The Bank of England is widely expected to cut its main interest rate by a quarter point to 3.75 percent on Thursday, also as the U.K. economy struggles to grow and unemployment rises.
"Inflation fell notably in November to its lowest annual rate since March," ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said in a statement.
"Lower food prices, which traditionally rise at this time of the year, were the main driver of the fall with decreases seen particularly for cakes, biscuits and breakfast cereals."
Finance minister Rachel Reeves, who along with Prime Minister Keir Starmer has come under pressure over Britain's weak economic growth, welcomed the data.
"Getting bills down is my top priority," she said in a statement, having recently announced measures to trim energy and rail ticket prices in the Labour government's annual budget.
The pound accelerated losses against the dollar following the data as markets priced in a Bank of England rate cut Thursday and further likely reductions in 2026.
The "big fall in CPI inflation... will surely be enough to prompt the governor of the Bank of England (Andrew Bailey) to reach into his big bag tomorrow and give borrowers the early Christmas present of a cut in interest rates", Paul Dales, chief U.K. economist at Capital Economics research group, said in a statement.
He added that the BoE was on course to cut borrowing costs further next year with U.K. inflation set to move closer to the central bank's two-percent target.
While a cut to the interest rate can help individuals and businesses taking out loans, it reduces returns on savings deposited in banks.
Britain's retail banks tend to mirror changes to BoE monetary policy on their accounts, including for mortgages.
The central bank last cut its key interest rate in August amid concerns over the impact of US tariffs on the U.K. economy.
It was the bank's fifth reduction since the central bank began a trimming cycle in August 2024, one month after Labour won a general election.
