On April 19, the data released by the British National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed that the British CPI fell from 10.4% in February to 10.1% in March.
Economists had forecast that the CPI annual rate would fall to 9.8% in March, further away from the 41-year high of 11.1% in October last year, but this level would still affect the spending power of workers who have seen smaller wage increases.
Overall, the UK’s inflation rate was the highest among Western European countries, despite a drop in CPI in March.
Recent indicators have been mixed on inflation, with data on Tuesday showing stronger-than-expected wage growth.
However, business surveys pointed to cooling pressures on costs and selling prices. Financial markets indicated on Tuesday that there was about an 80 percent chance the Bank of England would raise interest rates next month.