UK inflation slows to central bank's 2 pct target

LONDON

British inflation slowed in May to the central bank's two-percent target, official data showed on Wednesday, boosting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's struggling election campaign.

The Consumer Prices Index fell as expected from 2.3 percent in April, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement citing easing growth in food prices.

That follows almost three years Britain's above-target inflation, which last stood at two percent in July 2021 before surging higher in a cost-of-living crisis.

The news sets the scene for the July 4 general election which Sunak's Conservatives are tipped to lose badly to Keir Starmer's main opposition Labour Party, according to opinion polls.

Sunak hailed the inflation slowdown, but Labour slammed the Conservatives' stewardship of the economy after 14 years in power.

"It's very good news, because the last few years have been really tough for everybody," Sunak told LBC radio.

"Inflation is back to target, and that means people will start to feel the benefits and ease some of the burdens on the cost of living, and it's because of that economic stability that we've restored."

The Bank of England will meet today, but it is expected to sit tight on interest rates, as is customary ahead of U.K. elections.

After peaking at 11.1 percent in October 2022, consumer price growth has cooled following a series of interest-rate hikes by the U.K. central bank.

Britain's economy, however, stagnated in April after emerging from recession in the first quarter of the year, official data showed last week.