Reprieve! The British consumer has received a stay of execution. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show inflation last month fell to 2.8 per cent – down from 3.3 per cent in March and by more than most economists had forecast. But don’t bother reading the ‘corner has been turned’ press

Most economists think the rate of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation slowed to 3% in April, from 3.3% in March.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the inflation rate to drop back to 3%, cooling from 3.3% in March.