AT_954_20241101

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6 ASIAN TRADER 1 NOVEMBER 2024

Inﬂ ation fell by more than

expected last month, including

key measures watched by the

Bank of England, increasing

bets on an interest rate cut next

month.

The rate of annual consumer

price inﬂ ation dropped to 1.7%

in September from 2.2% in

August, the lowest reading

since April 2021, the Of ce for

National Statistics said.

Sterling fell by half a cent

against the US dollar immedi-

ately after the ﬁ gures were

published.

Core inﬂ ation, which

excludes energy, food, alcohol

and tobacco, dropped to 3.2%

from 3.6% in August.

“Lower airfares and petrol

prices were the biggest driver

for this month’s fall. These

were partially of set by

increases for food and non-al-

coholic drinks, the ﬁ rst time

that food price inﬂ ation has

strengthened since early last

year,” ONS chief economist

Grant Fitzner said.

There were also signs of

weaker inﬂ ation pressure ahead.

Prices charged by factories for

their goods fell by 0.7% in the

year to September, the biggest

fall since October 2020, during

the COVID pandemic.

The inﬂ ation rate was lower

than the 1.9% rise that analysts

forecast and has cemented

expectations that the central

bank would likely cut interest

rates again in November.

“It is absolutely amazing to

see such a dramatic drop in the

UK’s CPI number, and the news

had brought nothing (but) good

things for the Bank of Eng-

land,” said Naeem Aslam, chief

investment of cer at Zaye

Capital Markets.

In August, the BoE reduced

its key rate for the ﬁ rst time

since early 2020, from a 16-year

high of 5.25 per cent as

inﬂ ation returned to normal

levels.

Unclear whether interest rate cuts are on the way

Inﬂ ation hits three-year low,

but food inﬂ ation strengthens

InPost Group has acquired

the remaining 70% stake in

Menzies Distribution

Limited in an all-cash

transaction valued at £60.4

million. The transaction

concerns Express and

Newstrade segments.

The third segment,

MDS, responsible mainly

for full load transport and

warehousing was demerged

from Menzies and is not part

of the transaction. It will

continue to be run by its

existing management team

and InPost will retain a 30%

shareholding.

The acquisition builds on

the strong commercial

growth that InPost has shown

in the UK – tripling its revenue

in the UK market over the last

year – and will allow the

business to fulﬁ l several

strategic objectives:

This transaction gives

InPost full control over its

UK logistics operations,

allowing the company to

accelerate its plans for

implementation of new

services in the UK

market, including its

next-day B2C parcel

locker service.

It secures InPost’s

position among the leading

parcel locker service

providers in the UK and allows

the combined entity to take

advantage of increasing

consumer preference for

lockers in the UK.

It allows InPost to further

upgrade logistics capabilities

and improve quality KPIs.

InPost takes over Menzies’

Express, Newstrade logistics

NewsTeam shows support

for NewsTraid

Newspaper and magazine delivery

company NewsTeam have raised

more than £1,000 for NewstrAid

during their recent conference in

Paphos, Cyprus.

Involving 60 staf members from

NewsTeam, the conference included

a presentation from NewstrAid CEO,

Neil Jagger and concluded with a

fundraising event and raf e in the

evening which raised more than

£1,000 for the charity’s work.

The event saw three members of

NewsTeam staf sign up as Welfare

Volunteers for NewstrAid.

Anyone interested in becoming a

Welfare Volunteer for NewstrAid

should visit their website for more

information. https://www.newstraid.

org.uk/welfare-volunteers/

Global wine stuck in

a rut: trade body

Bad weather means global wine

production this year will remain near a

60-year low according to preliminary

estimates, said the International

Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).

“Early indications suggest that

2024 will be another year of relatively

low production, most likely below

250m hectolitres a year,” director

general John Barker said at the

opening of the body’s 45th congress

in Dijon.

Last year some 237m hectolitres

of wine were produced globally, the

lowest amount since 1961, as the

various ef ects of drought, heatwaves

and ﬂ ooding af ected grape harvests.

KP Nuts £100m

RSV milestone

KP Nuts has achieved a major new

milestone, reaching £100m RSV.

At more than four times the size

of the nearest branded competitor,

KP continues to drive category

growth, delivering a versatile range

of tasty ﬂ avours in a variety of

formats that cater to all occasions

and tastes.

The past year has been one of

KP’s most successful. The KP core

range, renowned for its quality and

delicious ﬂ avours, continued to

perform strongly, with the iconic

Original Salted Peanuts variant

gaining a Great Taste Award.

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