The government’s preferred measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), showed inflation falling from 2.8% to 2.7% on an annual basis in the year to August.
But the older Retail Prices Index (RPI) showed inflation rising from 3.1% to 3.3% over the same period. Unlike the CPI, the RPI includes housing costs and its construction means rises in petrol and food prices have a bigger effect.