Inflation eases to 9.9pc as fuel prices fall – live updates

Good morning. 

There’s some much-needed good news this morning as UK inflation eased back slightly in August.

The consumer prices index cooled to 9.9pc last month, according to the ONS. That’s down from 10.1pc in July, though it’s still not far off the highest level in 40 years.

The figure will offer some relief to the Bank of England, which will announce its decision on interest rates next week as it tackles stubbornly high inflation.

Price rises still remain embedded in the economy, though Prime Minister Liz Truss’s energy bills support could offer further relief later in the year.

5 things to start your day 

1)  Unemployment at lowest since 1974 as NHS backlog drives ‘alarming’ exodus – A sharp rise in long-term sickness drives unemployment to its lowest level since 1974 as the labour market shrinks

2)  New York Times staff refuse to come back to the office – Over 1,200 members of staff are rebelling against the newspaper

3)  Hawksmoor criticises pressure to close on day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral – Host of businesses announce they are shutting as a sign of respect

4)  Port strikes deal fresh blow to Britain’s fragile supply chains – Workers at two of UK’s biggest ports will stage up to two weeks of walkouts later this month over a pay dispute

5) Deloitte plans to hire 1,000 employees outside of London – Big Four firm joins rush of accounting networks expanding beyond the capital

What happened overnight 

Asian shares tumbled, the dollar held firm and the US yield curve was deeply inverted on Wednesday, as a white-hot US inflation report dashed hopes for a peak in inflation and fuelled bets that interest rates may have to be raised higher and for longer.

Wall Street saw its steepest fall in two years, the safe-haven dollar posted its biggest jump since early 2020, and two-year Treasury yields jumped to the highest level in 15 years.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.3pc in early Asian trade on Wednesday. Resources-heavy Australia plunged 2.8pc, while Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 2.7pc.

Both S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures rose 0.1pc, after a heavy sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 3.94pc, the S&P 500 lost 4.2pc, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.16pc.

Coming up today

Corporate: Dunelm, Redrow (full-year), Tullow Oil (interim) 

Economics: Consumer price index (UK), producer price index (UK, US), retail price index (UK), industrial production (EU)