UK inflation dips slightly in August to 9.9%

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the United Kingdom slowed slightly in August as a drop in gasoline and diesel fuel prices gave consumers the first glimmer of hope that Britain’s cost-of-living crisis may be beginning to ease. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the consumer price index rose 9.9% in the 12 months through August. That’s down from the 40-year high of 10.1% reported last month and lower than economists’ expectations of 10%. Britain has been hard hit by worldwide price shocks triggered by the war in Ukraine, with U.K. consumer prices rising faster than other major economies over the past year. Lower gasoline costs also slowed U.S. inflation for a second straight month in August.