annual decrease

British house prices fell by 0.6 percent on an annual basis in January, after a revised 2.2 percent decrease in December, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Other data showed house prices rose in January as demand increased following a decrease in mortgage costs and weaker inflation. A slowdown in British consumer price inflation led to increased expectations of an interest rate cut by the Bank of England in August. The ONS reported that private rents rose by 9.0 percent in the year to February, the largest increase since records began in 2015, up from 8.5 percent in the 12 months to January.