CPI inflation surprised on the downside last month, maintaining at 3.8% rather than climbing to 4.0% as Fathom, consensus and the Bank of England (BoE) had expected. The downside surprise on what was expected to be the peak inflation reading was driven by lower-than-expected food-price and services inflation. On the back of this outturn, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain Bank Rate at 4.0% by a majority of five to four. The four MPC members who did not