The United Kingdom’s core Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation continued to moderate in February, with the year-over-year rate easing to 3.5% from 3.7% in January 2026. The latest data, updated on 25 March 2026, indicate a further cooling of underlying price pressures compared with the same month a year earlier.
Both the current and previous readings are calculated on a year-over-year basis, comparing each month’s core RPI change to the corresponding month in the prior year. The step down from January’s 3.7% to February’s 3.5% suggests that disinflation in core retail prices is still underway, albeit at a measured pace.
While headline inflation dynamics are not captured in this release, the continued decline in core RPI—stripping out more volatile components—may be viewed as a sign that underlying inflation forces in the UK retail sector are gradually easing as 2026 progresses.
