US inflation slows more than expected as fuel prices drop – live updates

Good morning.

Households need at least an extra £500 to survive soaring energy bills this winter as predictions for the price cap just keep going up.

That’s according to Octopus Energy boss Greg Jackson, who said current plans for £400 help “clearly isn’t sufficient” and urged the Government to go further.

He said direct help on energy bills would not only help families survive the winter, but also help to tackle inflation.

It comes after the latest predictions from Cornwall Insight found bills are set to top £4,200 a year by January.

Meanwhile, The Sun reports that energy bosses will meet ministers tomorrow amid plans to ramp up an existing 25pc windfall tax on the profits of major producers.

5 things to start your day 

1) Heathrow’s Spanish owner considers selling stake amid airport chaos  Ferrovial has previously warned about committing more funding following row over landing charges

2) Used car sales fall as drivers hold onto vehicles for longer  Chip shortage chokes production lines, leading to a lack of supply on secondhand market

3) Taxpayer-backed tech startup falls into administration as investor writes off £79m stake  Ticketing firm Pollen had received backing from Rishi Sunak’s Future Fund

4) The last thing we need to fight energy poverty is Soviet price controls or Macron’s coddling of the affluent  Allowing the state to intervene could lead to damaging consequences

5) EDF sues French government for €8.4bn after Macron forces it to sell energy at a loss  Nuclear giant estimates price cap could cost it €15bn over the year

What happened overnight 

Asian shares fell and the dollar steadied on Wednesday as investors waited for a key US report on inflation to provide hints to the Federal Reserve’s plans for future monetary tightening.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report will be released later today, with markets watching for signs that inflation eased in July despite last week’s unexpectedly strong US jobs numbers.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.51pc, while Japan’s Nikkei extended losses from the previous day and was down 0.65pc.

South Korea’s KOSPI lost 0.64pc, Australia’s AXJO dropped 0.12pc, and Taiwan’s TAIEX fell 0.7pc.

Coming up today

• Corporate: 4imprint Group, Admiral Group, Aviva, CLS Holdings, ContourGlobal, Gamesys Group, Quilter, TP ICAP (interims)
• Economics: Consumer price index (US, China, Ger), monthly budget statement (US)