- Elizabeth Martins, HSBC
British consumer prices held steady last month, ignoring an increase in the prices of imported raw materials driven by the country's decision to leave the European Union. According to the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 0.6% in August, in line with last year's reading, whereas market analysts penciled in a slight increase to 0.7% in the reported month. On a monthly basis, the CPI grew 0.3% in August, up from the preceding month's fall of 0.1%, while economic desks expected the indicator to come in at 04%. Meanwhile, the so-called core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased 1.3% on an annual basis in the eight month of the year, unchanged from July's reading, whereas analysts anticipated a slight rise to 1.4% in August. The British Pound dropped 0.6% against the US Dollar after the data release, trading at $1.3250 on the London Stock Exchange. The ONS data also showed that the Producer Price Index Input (PPI Input) rose 0.2% month-over-month in August, compared to July's downwardly revised gain of 3.1%. Markets expected the Index to come in at 0.6% last month. Furthermore, the Retail Price Index (RPI) climbed 1.8% in the same month, down from July's reading of 1.9% but in line with analysts' expectations.
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