“Relatively positive developments in the latest data point at hopes that inflation in the UK will see a smoother downwards path in coming months. While inflation remains well above the 2% target, both core and service sector inflation have eased in August.
“However, there are renewed concerns about the price of oil, which has risen by over 25% since June, and potential pressures on global food prices. These could not only slow the disinflation process further but also reverse the decline in inflation expectations, causing further worry for the Bank of England.
“We expect inflation to return to target only by the latter part of 2024, as businesses continue to pass on higher costs in order to rebuild margins. Under these circumstances, it would be surprising to see the Bank of England doing anything other than raising interest rates by 25 basis points tomorrow.”