UK inflation slows its fall, pushing back rate cut bets

Britain’s inflation rate slowed by less than expected in March, according to official figures published on Wednesday, adding to signs that a first interest rate cut by the Bank of England could be further off than previously thought.

British consumer prices rose by an annual 3.2 per cent, down from a 3.4 per cent increase in February and its lowest in two and a half years, the Office for National Statistics said.

But the BoE – which has an inflation target of 2 per cent – and economists...