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U.K. Inflation Slows but Remains Stubbornly High



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The rate of inflation in Britain slowed for a consecutive second month in December, but was still running in the double digits, maintaining a tight squeeze on household finances.Consumer prices rose 10.5 percent in December from a year earlier, down from 10.7 percent the previous month, with rising food prices and prices at hotels and restaurants offsetting lower gasoline and clothing prices, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Food and nonalcoholic drink prices rose 16.8 percent in December from a year earlier, slightly faster than the previous month.The overall declines come after inflation hit a 41-year high in October, at 11.1 percent.The peak in inflation appears to have passed, similar to trends in the United States, where the overall rate of inflation has been falling for six months, and in the eurozone, where the rate dipped below double digits in December. But central bankers, tasked with returning inflation to their 2 percent targets, are far from decl …

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