Emily McGarvey
Live reporter

We're ending our live coverage now. Thanks for following along as we broke down the UK's latest inflation figures published by the Office for National Statistics this morning.

Looking ahead, Ofgem is expected to announced a drop in the energy price cap tomorrow morning, which limits how much suppliers can charge per unit of energy. It's forecast to fall to about £2,000 per year - nearly double the amount when the cap was announced in 2019.

• To read more about how the UK inflation rate fell sharply to hit 8.7% in the year to April -the first time its dipped to single figures since last August - click here.
• To help get your head around why inflation is falling but prices are still increasing, look no further than here.
• And to understand more about what can be done to tackle inflation, click here.

Today's live page was written by Thomas Mackintosh, Luke Mintz, Jen Meierhans and Dearbail Jordan. It was edited by myself and Jamie Whitehead.

Prime Minister's Questions is getting underway shortly, my colleagues Emma Owen and Owen Amos will take you through that here

Dearbail Jordan
Business reporter

In the same way that today's inflation figures are an improvement but are still pretty horrid, get ready for the new price cap on energy bills.

On Thursday morning, Ofgem is expected to announce that the average household energy bill will fall by around £500.

While that is welcome, it simply means that the average home will now pay £2,000 per year for their gas and electricity.

Since last October, energy bills have been limited to £2,500 under the government's Energy Price Guarantee scheme. Because the price cap, set by the regulator Ofgem, is expected to be below the Energy Price Guarantee scheme, bills will no longer be subsidised.

So yes, there will be a fall but costs are still high - especially when you remember that the typical household gas and electricity bill was £1,137 just four years ago when the price cap was introduced in the UK.

Image source, PA Media

It is proving to be a busy Wednesday for Rishi Sunak as he prepares to face his weekly Prime Minister’s Questions, but he has found time to give his reaction to the current economic situation.

In a video posted on Twitter , externalthe prime minister said: “I promised when I took office that I would halve inflation, and today we’ve received the encouraging news that it has fallen.

"But it is still too high. So we’ll continue to target the pressures that push inflation up and continue taxing the extraordinary war-time windfall profits of oil and gas companies.

“This allows us to fund a range of support to shield people from the effects of inflation.

You can follow PMQs here

Let's have a closer look at what the latest inflation figures for April mean for our food prices.

We've taken today's new inflation rate - 8.7% - and compared the price of certain items to how much they cost in April last year.

Image source, .

Don't expect the cost of your food shop to come down for at least six monthspublished at 11:14 British Summer Time 24 May 2023

11:14 BST 24 May 2023

Dharshini David
Economics correspondent

The price tags are shocking - food inflation of 19.1% means the basket of food that cost £50 a year ago is now close to £60.

The spike in global wholesale costs of products produced by Ukraine and/or Russia - grain, oils, fertiliser, energy - in the wake of the war in Ukraine was eyewatering, so the impact on shoppers was inevitable.

Those commodity costs have dropped back - but they take typically six to 12 months to be passed on to the shelves. Contracts and prices of raw ingredients are agreed way in advance - producers and retailers may still be tied in to paying very high rates.

And wage costs are rising as retailers and manufacturers battle staff shortages - and the need to retain employees who themselves are facing a higher costs of living.

There are many reasons why food bills aren’t getting smaller - and may not do for some time; costs remain higher than before the pandemic

And while it’ll be of little comfort, food and drink still makes up a smaller part of our spending - less than £1 in every £8 on average - than in Italy, France or Germany.

Image source, PA Media

If you're just joining us or need a recap, here are the latest developments on the UK's rate of inflation:

• The UK's inflation rate fell to 8.7% in April, down from 10.1% in March, according to new figures released by the Official for National Statistics
• Inflation hit single figures for the first time since last August - but this doesn't mean prices are coming down, only that they are rising less quickly
• Food price inflation fell marginally from March to April, but food prices are still 19.1% higher than a year ago - close to record highs. Olive oil, eggs, and sauces & spices have recorded the largest annual price rises
• Core inflation - which strips out food and energy prices - rose to a 31-year high of 6.8% in April
• Inflation has dropped due to the fact that energy price rises are slowing from the extreme hikes seen a year ago, just after Russia invaded Ukraine
• Chancellor Jeremy Hunt welcomed the sharp fall in the headline rate of inflation, but said food prices remained "worryingly" high
• Labour accused the government of failing to tackle the cost of living crisis, the Liberal Democrats claimed the chancellor was "refusing" to act on food bills, and the SNP said families were struggling under the Tory government

Pay increases for many people aren't keeping up with rising prices.

The average weekly salary in the UK - excluding bonuses - in March stood at £598, up £2 on a month before, according to official figures, external.

Throughout 2022, the average salary rose by nearly £3 a month.

But when you take inflation into account, the average salary actually fell by 2% in the three months to March, compared with the same period the year before.

Annie Green
Business reporter

David Davensac was head of leadership and development for an international firm until he was made redundant back in 2020.

Due to pre-existing mental health issues he has not worked since then, and says the last three years have been “the worst I've ever known”.

“I’m now on a tenth of what I was on before and I certainly didn't have 90% disposable income," he says

And because of rising interest rates, Davensac’s mortgage will soon go up by hundreds of pounds, something he says he will struggle to afford.

“There are no other sacrifices we can really make,” says the 53-year-old from Essex.

He says he already shops at different supermarkets, taking advantage of deals and plans meals five weeks in advance to use up all the ingredients. “You will never find half a rotten vegetable in my fridge,” he says.

“With energy I ensure appliances we don’t need are switched off, and nothing is left on standby. I put the hot water on for just enough time to cover two showers, and I only put enough water in the kettle for what I need.”

Forecasters predict further interest rate risespublished at 10:18 British Summer Time 24 May 2023

10:18 BST 24 May 2023

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

Apart from the fall below double digits, there was not a great deal to cheer in this latest inflation number. It is difficult to see how it reflects a material change for households.

The headline rate is still close to 9%, but that should continue to fall.

It is the spike up in core inflation - a measure of price pressures that strips out the most volatile components such as food and energy - that is most concerning. At 6.8% this is now at the highest level for 31 years, and is the measure most watched by central banks such as the Bank of England.

Markets now calculate a further interest rate rise is a certainty. The jump in core inflation may also bring another rise in August into play. In less well-reported remarks yesterday, the International Monetary Fund warned of "premature celebration" on defeating inflation.

When an economy hits double digit inflation, it tends to take years, not weeks to get it out of the system.

Kath Paddison
Digital producer, Wake Up to Money

A stationery shop owner in Cheshire said rising prices mean she is working twice as hard for less return.

She is happy to see inflation coming down but knows it won’t change things overnight.

Sarah Laker, 55, who runs Stationery Supplies in Marple and Wilmslow, said the price of paper has doubled in the last year, just one of the many rising costs her business is facing.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money she’s had no choice but to “put my product prices up” because “margins are being squeezed”.

“Retail is exhausting, we are stumbling from one crisis to another continually reinventing ourselves,” she said.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has vowed to “be relentless in sticking to the plan to bring down inflation” saying it was causing industrial unrest and “enormous pressure” on families.

In response to the fact that core inflation - which strips out food and energy prices - has risen to a 31-year high, he told me: “We have to bring it down, there’s no two ways about it."

In response to the suggestion that the impact of inflation was spreading throughout the economy, he said: “What it also shows the economy is growing faster than people predicted. So what we want to do is to get the benefits of growth without inflation.”

The government’s target for inflation is 2%.

Yesterday the International Monetary Fund forecast that this would not be reached until mid-2025.

Hannah Miller
BBC Breakfast business presenter

The inflation figure gives us an idea of how fast the cost of living is rising in the UK but here are a few things you might not know.

1. Inflation is falling - so prices are still going up, just not as quickly

Prices are still rising quite sharply compared to a year ago, just at a slower rate than they have been. Prices are still likely to keep going up over the next few months, but not at the rate that has caused such a shock to households and businesses across the country over the last year.

2. Your costs might be rising even faster

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) which calculates inflation, bases its numbers on a basket of goods that reflects what most people across the UK are buying.

So if you are buying a lot of unusual or niche items, or you have atypical tastes, you might find the cost of your own bag of shopping is going up more quickly - or more slowly - than the headlines suggest.

3. Will prices ever fall?

While this might be difficult to believe right now, falling prices aren't always a good thing - here's why. If people expect that prices are likely to fall, they delay spending with the aim of getting a cheaper deal later on.

That means businesses have less money coming in, so they try to find ways to cut costs - most likely by cutting wages or laying off staff.

So prices falling can mean people lose their jobs, which in turn makes prices fall further. This is called "deflation", a different kind of economic crisis that brings its own set of problems.

Image source, Press Association

The Scottish National Party has given its own reaction to this morning's inflation figures, blaming the Conservatives for leaving families "worse off".

Stewart Hosie, the party's spokesperson for the economy, said that any slight dip in the UK’s "sky-high inflation is to be welcomed but prices are still soaring".

He said the cost of living under Westminster is "still far too high for many families who were already struggling to get by after 13 years of Tory cuts, Brexit and economic mismanagement".

"Under the Tories, the majority of families in the UK are worse off as wages fall behind the increasingly unaffordable cost of food, housing, bills and everyday essentials."

Ben Boulos
Reporting from Liverpool

Mandy Buckton knows the effect of rising prices all too well.

By 5.30am she has already been to collect fresh fruit and veg from the Liverpool wholesale market to fulfil orders at her food delivery business.

But she says the price she pays for the produce has gone up sharply over the last year.

“It’s very depressing,” she tells me. “Prices are horrendous and obviously we’ve had to pass some of that on to the customer. But our profit margins have shrunk by about half, I think.”

That has meant having to make some tough business decisions.

“We had a local fruit and veg shop in Ainsdale village but we had to close that because of costs going up and trade dropping off. Now I work from home and we just do deliveries.”

The latest figure for UK inflation was 8.7% in the year to April - down from 10.1% in March and 11.1% in October.

But you can see from our graph this is still very high and more than four times higher than the Bank of England's target of 2%.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

The chancellor has said “we’ve got a long way to go” to get inflation down, and that the “battle” was “far from over”.

Jeremy Hunt told me: “The fact that they have come down markedly – the headline rate - of course is welcome news, but there are things underneath those numbers which show that this battle is far from over. We’ve got a long way to go.”

His comments come as overall inflation dropped to 8.7% for the month of April, falling below 10% for the first time in eight months, but food inflation is at 19.1%.

This means that prices are on average 8.7% higher than this time last year. Lower inflation does not mean that prices are falling - but that they are not rising as fast.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

I’ve just finished interviewing the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on what he called “worryingly high” inflation.

When I asked him if supermarkets could be profiteering from high prices he told me: “If there is any wrong behaviour going on, we have an independent regulator that is looking at those issues.”

Today’s inflation figure of 8.7% is a step in the right direction “but there are things underneath those numbers, which show that this battle is far from over,” Hunt said.

“We have never celebrated anything," he added. "Until we achieve our objective to halve inflation, the job is not done.”

When I challenged the chancellor as to why inflation was so stubborn in the UK compared to the US or EU he said: “I think it's very dangerous to make international comparisons when things are changing so rapidly, you know, a few months ago, everyone was saying we were going to be the lowest growing economy in the G7."

Image source, PA Media

A leader of the Unite union has warned there is "no end in sight" to the cost-of-living crisis despite the fall in inflation, as prices are still rising "much faster than wages".

Rising prices have played a key factor in strikes in sectors across the economy as workers see their pay fall further behind inflation.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Falling inflation does not mean we've reached a turning point where things can only get better."

She added that "rampant profiteering by the supermarkets" has driven the cost of food to record highs.

Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Paul Nowak took aim at the prime minister for failing to have a plan to get wages rising.

"We all want inflation to fall faster, but working families are also suffering from this government's failure to get wages growing. This needs to change, too."

UK inflation impacted by war in Ukraine and worker shortagespublished at 08:24 British Summer Time 24 May 2023

08:24 BST 24 May 2023

Dharshini David
Economics Correspondent

There are two key triggers for the recent bout of painful inflation around the world. The impact of the war in Ukraine on global wholesale food and energy costs, and post pandemic worker shortages.

Unfortunately, the UK has been particularly hit by both - which is why inflation is higher and more stubborn than in the US and than on average in the EU.

The UK and Europe are more heavily reliant on imports of gas than the US - and so were more vulnerable to those spikes. The way regulators set energy bills here means they’ve been slower to fall than in much of Europe - and our government offered less support with bills, and at a later date.

Meanwhile, in both the UK and US, employers struggled to attract workers.

It’s been particularly acute in the UK as a combination of Brexit and a rise in those registered in long term sick meant employers had to offer higher wages to fill vacancies.

That, economists warn, means that while prices may me rising at a smaller rate, inflation may be more persistent here.

Ben Boulos
reporting from Liverpool

Here in Liverpool, the CEO of the L6 Centre foodbank tells me the impact of inflation goes beyond food.

“We are a warm hub so the gas and electricity has to be kept on," Gerard Woodhouse says.

“We are only able to buy a third of the stuff we were buying six months ago.

“People who used to donate food 12-18 months ago are now using the food bank. We get people needing help from right across the board.

“There’s anything up to 100 families using the food bank and it’s not getting any better - it’s getting worse.”