Falling oil prices and supermarket price wars have sent UK inflation tumbling to its lowest level since 2000Latest: Consumer Prices index up by just 0.5% in DecemberEarlier:Brent crude drops below $46/barrelMorrisons CEO sacked, heads for a beer 9.46am GMT Supermarket price wars have also helped to send inflation plummeting to its lowest since May 2000.In the year to December 2014, food prices fell by 1.9% and prices of motor fuels fell by 10.5%, the ONS reports. 9.42am GMT There was no monthly inflation between November and December, helping to drag the annual inflation rate down to 0.5%.The ONS says that housing & household services costs were unchanged month-on-month, mainly due to “falling price movements for gas and electricity”.The average price per litre has fallen to 116.8p for petrol and 122.9p for diesel. This is 24.8p per litre below the peak average prices of 141.6p and 147.7p per litre for petrol and diesel respectively in April 2012. 9.41am GMT 9.34am GMT Inflation was dragged down in December by falling motor fuel, electricity and gas prices, says the Office for National Statistics. That’s the tumbling oil price feeding through to consumers. 9.32am GMT Here we go. UK inflation has tumbled to just 0.5% in December!. That’s the weakest reading since 2000, I think, and even weaker than expected.It’s a “huge, huge” reading, says Bloomberg. More to follow..... 9.27am GMT The pound has weakened this morning ahead of the inflation data, as traders anticipate a weak reading.Sterling is down half a cent against the US dollar at $1.5117. 9.08am GMT Every City economist polled by Reuters believes that UK inflation hit a new 12-year low below 1% last month. All 43 forecasters expect UK Dec inflation to fall below 1%. Consensus 0.7%, range 0.5-0.9% @ReutersPolls pic.twitter.com/7pLGvDCwg5 9.06am GMT Just 30 minutes to go until we learn whether Britain’s inflation rate has hit a 12-year low.The City is expecting a chunky fall, to 0.7% from 1% in November, partly due to falling oil prices. This suggests that – similarly to the Federal Reserve – the Bank of England may chalk up the slide in headline price growth to the transitory impact of the sinking cost of crude oil, meaning it won’t necessarily interpret a weak result as reason enough to delay interest rate hikes.”The world gets Japanese forcing Carney to write BoEs 1st open letter explaining why CPI so low http://t.co/MmJB9XbKDm pic.twitter.com/dALrHs0NgW 8.55am GMT Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, will be forced to write a letter of explanation to the government if, as expected, inflation fell below 1% in December.The BoE is responsible for keeping inflation at 2%, plus or minus one percentage point. Carney’s predecessor, Mervyn King, wrote several letters explaining why inflation had overshot this target; no-one’s ever had to explain why it has undershot.Fountain pen sellers in London! Has anybody seen Bank of England Governor Mark Carney recently? #BoE #CPI 8.44am GMT Over in the eurozone, Italy’s president Georgio Napolitano is on the brink of stepping down. And the chatter in the markets is that European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi – the man who “saved the euro” in 2012 – could possibly replace him.Looks like Italian president will be resigning tomorrow. How much does Draghi love life in Frankfurt?? 8.23am GMT Shares in Debenhams have fallen over 6% after the high street chain reported a 0.8% drop in like-for-like sales over Christmas. 8.17am GMT Those heartless souls in the City are welcoming the departure of Morrisons CEO Dalton Philips; shares in the supermarket chain are leading the FTSE 100 rises, jumping as much as 6%Morrisons shares leading FTSE 100 risers with 4% gain after ousting of CEO Dalton Philips http://t.co/FW20v4KnhF 8.08am GMT Overnight, the British Retail Consortium reported that UK shops have suffered their toughest Christmas since the financial crisis struck. 8.00am GMT UK historian Glen O’Hara tweets:The oil price fall is just becoming a rout. It's extraordinary - one of the most powerful changes in politics and economics for many years. 7.57am GMT E.ON has become the first UK utility major firm to pass the cheaper wholesale pricers onto customers.The German firm is cutting gas prices by 3.5 % - which will apparently cut £24 off the average annual gas bill.“Whilst this announcement is welcome, it is underwhelming in the face of wholesale prices falling around 20 per cent over the past year. Anyone still languishing on standard tariffs should take action, as bigger savings are easily available. 7.50am GMT Brent oil at $45.45. Down another 4%. 7.44am GMT Morrisons CEO Dalton Philips is putting on a brave face this morning after learning that his time at the supermarket chain is over.Curiously awkward Morrisons conference call, featuring the new chairman and the chief exec he's just fired.Dalton Philips: "I don't have another job to go to. My wife has given me a long list of chores to do/" #Morrisons 7.32am GMT The oil price has hit its lowest level in almost six years this morning, suggesting that inflation will continue to fall in 2015. The cost of a barrel of Brent crude shed another 3.8% to $45.62, a drop of almost two dollars. The Rout continues ... Bloomberg breaking news: WTI Crude Oil Falls Below $45 a Barrel for the First Time Since April 2009 7.21am GMT Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the financial markets, the global economy, the eurozone and business.Britain’s inflation rate is expected to fall today, bringing relief to households but also fuelling fears that the world economy may be veering into a deflationary spiral.Focus will continue to be on the ECB and any potential easing measures, particularly QE.It also seems like Greek exit fears are somewhat downgraded and this has seen Greek 10-year yields cool and equities rally. On the calendar today we have Italian industrial production along with UK CPI and PPI. The euro remains relatively sidelined but it won’t take much to ignite some risk appetite, given the amount of headline risk Europe continues to face. Continue reading...
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