Inflation Falls to 2.3%
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 12:03PM Click here for our Clash of the Titans page.
Average third quarter inflation was just 2.3%, dragged down by the latest figure released yesterday. The CPI grew by just 2.1% in September, which is the lowest rate since November 2009. According to the ONS, the strongest downward pressure came from the housing sector.
All three professors in the official Clash of the Titans competition thought that inflation would be higher this quarter than it has turned out, but John Muellbauer of Oxford was the closest with a prediction of 2.5%. With only two more data points to be released before the end of the competition, this result secures the win for Oxford University. Only one of our forecasters correctly predicted the final number of 2.3%, and only 6% of our respondants thought that inflation would be 2.3% or lower. The same percentage thought that inflation would be higher than 5% in this quarter, while the average was 3.6%.
This has had a big effect on the standings - you can see how you are doing here.
The penultimate number to be announced will be third quarter GDP, due on the 25th October. Will we see a fourth consecutive quarter of negative growth?
Tickets for the next Clash of the Titans event, to be held on the 4th December, are now available here. Please note that Early Bird Tickets (costing £20) are only available until the end of October.