British producer prices fall in December

The prices of goods leaving Britain's factories surprisingly fell in December compared with November, confirming expectations that inflation is set to ease further this year, official data showed Friday. Producer prices dropped 0.2 percent last month from November -- the first month-on-month decline since June 2010 -- as petroleum products, chemicals, drugs and machinery all fell, the Office for National Statistics said. Compared with a year earlier, December producer prices rose 4.8 percent, down from 5.4 percent in November, the ONS added. Analysts had expected factory prices to have risen by 0.1 percent on the month and 5.0 percent year-on-year. "Today's figures confirm that disinflationary pressure in the economy is building," said Samuel Tombs, economist at research group Capital Economics. Britain's 12-month inflation dipped to 4.8 percent in November from 5.0 percent in October, helped by lower food and petrol prices, and is forecast to fall back much closer to the BoE's 2.0-percent target during 2012. Office for National Statistics