P203 CEEFAX 203  Fri 15 Apr  21:14/37
     
      RATE OF INFLATION    
      MODERATES TO 2.3%    
 
  The 9ear-on-9jar rate of UU retail  
  price inflation eased fractionally  
  between February and March.         
                                      
  The annual rate came down to 2.3%   
  from 2.4% after prices rose by just 
  0.3% in March, taking the UPI (base 
  January 1987) to 142.5.             
                                      
  After excluding mortgage interest   
  payments, the year-on-9jar increase 
  fell from 2.8% in February to just  
  2.4% - the lowest since this rate   
  was first calculated, back in 1975. 
                                      
  A 12-month rise of 0.2% in food was 
  the lowest recorded since May 1983. 
 
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