LONDON: Britain's annual inflation rate hit 3.0 percent in December, down slightly from November, partly owing to a fall in the price of toys before Christmas, official data showed Tuesday.
"The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 3.0 percent in December 2017, down from 3.1 percent in November 2017," the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
The November rate had been the highest level in almost six years.
"The fall-back in CPI inflation... marks the beginning of what we expect will be a sustained downward trend over the course of this year," said Paul Hollingsworth, economist at Capital Economics research group.
Price rises accelerated across the UK during 2017 after Britain's referendum vote in favour of leaving the European Union pushed down on the pound, hiking the cost of imported goods.
Consequently, the Bank of England raised its main interest rate in November for the first time in a decade -- to 0.5 percent from a record-low 0.25 percent.
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