Lower clothing prices due to an increased number of special offers helped reduce the annual rate of inflation in Britain last month, figures showed today.
The cost of both adults' and children's clothing recovered more slowly from the summer sales than last year, contributing to a 0.1% fall in the UK Consumer Prices Index to 1.3%.
Lower prices of toys, computer games and consoles also helped push the figure down, the Office for National Statistics said.
The fall in the inflation rate was in line with analysts' forecasts, although a key Bank of England report recently showed inflation would rise in the coming months to meet the Government's target of 2% in two years' time.
Other downward pressure came from food, mainly vegetables, as a result of significantly increased sales during last year's hot summer. In contrast, the cost of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rose last month due to a hike in the price of heating oil.
