STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 18 February 2014

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25. UK inflation undershoots Bank of England target for first time since 2009

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/02/18/uk-britain-inflation-idUKBREA1H0FP20140218

(Reuters) - British inflation fell below the Bank of England's target for the first time in over four years last month, reinforcing the bank's message that there is no rush to raise interest rates.

Consumer prices rose 1.9 percent on the year in January, slowing from December's rate of 2.0 percent, making it the smallest increase since November 2009, the Office for National Statistics said.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected it to stay at 2.0 percent, although the lower rate of inflation fitted with the BoE's latest forecasts showing it would dip to around 1.7 percent by March.

"With sterling remaining strong, pushing down import costs, energy and commodity prices remaining well behaved and wage pressures limited, inflation is likely to remain soft for several months," said ING economist James Knightley.