UK inflation rate remains steady at 2.4%

The UK inflation rate remained steady at 2.4% in October, confounding analyst expectations of a rise to 2.5%.

The Office for National Statistics reported that there were declines in food and clothing prices in the month, but that these were offset by rises in domestic fuel costs. Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, was also steady at 1.9 percent.

That figure strips out the effects of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices. The Bank of England signaled earlier this month that it is likely to raise interest rates again next year to curb inflationary pressure, and could accelerate the pace of hikes in the cost of borrowing if Brexit is smooth.

The inflation figure comes a day after data showed that wages were rising by 3.2% - the fastest pace in nearly a decade.

Inflation hit a five-year high of 3.1% in November 2017, as the inflationary effect of sterling's decline after the June 2016 Brexit vote hit its peak.

However, it is still above the Bank of England's 2% target.

The ONS's head of inflation, Michael Hardie, said: "Prices paid by consumers continued to rise at a steady rate, with falls in food and clothing offset by rising utility bills and petrol, as crude [oil] prices continued to rise."

Looking at the latest date, for manufacturers, the cost of raw materials was 10% higher than in October 2017.

And manufacturers increased the prices they charged by 3.3% year-on-year compared with 3.1% the previous month.

The ONS said house prices in September rose by an annual 3.5% against 3.1% in August.

But prices in London fell for a third month running, down by 0.3%.

According to Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown: "Brexit is still the elephant in the room when it comes to the future path of inflation, and consequently of monetary policy.

"That's because the pound now waxes and wanes with the Brexit negotiations, and that has a big impact on how much UK consumers pay for imported goods."