The United Kingdom’s core Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased slightly in January 2026, with the year-over-year rate slipping to 3.1%, down from 3.2% in December 2025. The data, updated on 18 February 2026, indicate a modest continuation of the disinflation trend in underlying price pressures.
Both the current and previous readings are measured on a year-over-year basis, comparing each month’s change to the same month a year earlier. The December figure reflected core inflation at 3.2% versus December a year before, while the latest January reading shows a further, if marginal, cooling to 3.1% compared with January a year earlier.
While the decline is small, the movement suggests that underlying inflation in the UK is gradually easing, potentially informing expectations around the future stance of monetary policy and financial market pricing of interest rates. Investors and analysts will be watching subsequent releases closely to assess whether this softening in core price growth becomes more pronounced in the months ahead.
