0848 GMT - Lower-than-expected U.K. inflation in March suggests the Bank of England can proceed with further interest-rate cuts later this year, Berenberg's Andrew Wishart says in a note. The headline annual inflatoin rate fell to 2.6% from 2.8% in February. Most encouragingly, services inflation eased to 4.7% from 5.0%. Concerns that the downward trend in services inflation could stop is a big reason why the BOE might have only cut rates once more this year, he says. "Strong pay growth, forward looking survey data and persistent inflation in some parts of the services sector continue to support that view." But weaker March inflation suggests there might be slightly less inflationary pressure in the system than previously assumed, he says. (edward.frankl@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2025 04:48 ET (08:48 GMT)

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