20 March 2024, 07:02 GMTUpdated 3 minutes agoImage supply, Getty ImagesInflation fell to three.4% in February, down from 4% in January and edging nearer to the Financial institution’s goal of two%. The drop means the price of dwelling is rising at its slowest tempo since September 2021, when it stood at 3.1%.Inflation, the speed at which costs rise over time, has been steadily falling because it hit 11.1% in October 2022, its highest charge for 40 years. The Workplace for Nationwide Statistics (ONS) mentioned the autumn in meals value inflation was partly behind the drop. Nonetheless, costs usually are not but falling they’re simply rising much less rapidly than they had been beforehand.Most economists had predicted the drop and mentioned it could additional expectations that the Financial institution of England will minimize rates of interest later within the 12 months. The determine comes forward of its newest rate of interest choice on Thursday, which is predicted to see charges held at 5.25%. Whereas the drop in inflation might be welcomed by the federal government it follows official information final month which confirmed that the UK fell into recession on the finish of final 12 months. Grant Fitzner, chief economist on the ONS instructed the BBC’s At the moment programme one of many causes for the larger than anticipated drop in final month’s determine was the autumn in meals value inflation which had come down “fairly a bit” from 6.9% to five%. “That is 11 consecutive month-to-month falls… in reality we’ve not actually seen a lot change in meals costs for the final 9 months, they have been nearly flat,” he mentioned.”These falls had been solely partially offset by value rises on the pump and an extra enhance in rental prices,” he added.”However the common development continues to be decrease,” Mr Fitzner mentioned. Whereas the ONS didn’t mirror drops in vitality costs in its calculations the economist mentioned the Financial institution of England and the Workplace for Price range Duty had been projecting additional falls in inflation.