imageCoronavirus3 hours ago (Apr 22, 2020 02:30AM ET)

(C) Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London

By Andy Bruce and William Schomberg

LONDON (Reuters) – Dragged down by clothing and footwear prices, Britain’s inflation rate fell as expected in March when oil prices tumbled and the coronavirus crisis escalated, official data showed on Wednesday.

The consumer price index was 1.5% higher compared with March 2019, the Office for National Statistics said, as a Reuters poll of economists had predicted, following a 1.7% rise in February.

A fall in clothing and footwear prices was the biggest drag on consumer prices in March.

“Prices usually rise between February and March, and this year’s fall is the first since 2015 and only the second since the start of the constructed (inflation) series in 1988,” the ONS said.

Sales were likely to have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, the ONS added.

Although the data for inflation were collected on March 17 — a few days before the enactment of a full-scale lockdown — the ONS said consumer behavior might have changed in expectation of the restrictions.

Petrol prices at the pump fell by 5.1 pence per liter between February and March, the biggest drop since December 2018.

It was a similar story for manufacturers.

Petrol prices were the biggest drag on both output and input cost prices for factories, the ONS said.

Still, factory output prices rose unexpectedly in March, rising 0.3% on the year, against expectations in the Reuters poll for a 0.1% drop.

UK inflation fell just before coronavirus lockdown, weighed by clothing

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.