Slower inflation provides ‘welcome’ boost to London markets - The FTSE 100 finished 99.59 points, or 1.21%, higher to end the day at 8,301.13.

U.K. inflation fell to a lower-than-expected 2.5% in December, with core price growth slowing further, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics.

Inflation in the U.K. unexpectedly fell in December, a move that will likely fuel pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates again next month

Less than a third of businesses in the city now believe the UK economy will improve over the next 12 months. But 48% of firms in the capital expect their turnover to grow in the next year. Nearly half, 48 per cent, of businesses also expect their profitability to rise over 2025.

The yield on 10-year U.K. government bonds was 16 basis points lower at 4.727% at 4 p.m. in London, putting it on course for its first daily decline since Dec. 31. A surge since the start of the year on concerns over the country's growth outlook and debt load had taken the benchmark yield to its highest level since 2008.

Thanks to years of cutbacks in public spending and unprecedented inflation, London’s borough councils are facing a cash crisis. Soon, for the first time thousands of London’s poorest residents will have to pay council tax, while 15 boroughs will increase council tax for all residents.

This trend has been gathering for decades but in the past few years has conclusively swept the West End. The irrational exuberance—baleful to some observers, harmless to others—reflects changes in the mood outside the theatre as much as the drama within.

LONDON (Reuters) - British inflation unexpectedly slowed last month and core measures of price growth - tracked by the Bank of England - fell more sharply, according to official data that will be welcomed by finance minister Rachel Reeves after recent a market selloff.

London was the only UK region to see house price falls in the year to November, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). Property prices in the capital dropped 0.1 per cent to an average of £511,000 in November, a slight improvement on the 0.4 per cent fall recorded in October.

Britain's annual inflation rate unexpectedly fell to 2.5 percent last month, official data on Wednesday showed, easing some pressure on the Labour government faced with economic unrest.

British equities were broadly higher on Thursday, building on their strong gains seen in the last session as markets eyed potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year following an easing core inflation reading.

London's stock markets closed significantly higher on Wednesday, buoyed by positive inflation data from both sides of the Atlantic. The FTSE 100 index climbed 1.21% to 8,301.13 points, while the FTSE 250 surged 2.