Sunak hopes of pre-election interest rate cuts frustrated by inflation slow puncture

Shift in rate reduction predictions to autumn hits prime minister's strategy of winning back mortgage payers

• UK inflation falls by less than forecast to 3.2%, cooling rate cut hopes

When the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, told an event in Washington on Tuesday that the UK economy was disinflating", it raised the hopes of mortgage payers and indebted businesses that a cut in the cost of borrowing could be on the way soon.

But less than 24 hours later, the latest UK inflation data and worsening interest rate forecasts have curtailed those aspirations.