Further, as we said in our 3 September interest rate announcement, we anticipate that certain temporary factors now affecting both the total and CPIX measures of inflation should dissipate over the coming quarters and that both measures will converge on 2 per cent in the second half of 2009.
In the interim, total CPI inflation is likely to continue rising, as past energy-price increases push it higher. However, the recent decline in both spot and futures prices for energy commodities means that the spike in total CPI inflation expected between now and the first quarter of 2009 will be lower than projected in July.