Food and drink prices are some of the fastest growing in the UK

Consumer price inflation fell to 2.8% last month, against 3.1% in March, the Office for National Statistics said.

The Retail Prices Index, an inflation measure often used in pay bargaining, fell to 4.5% in April from 4.8%.

In an effort to slow prices, the Bank of England has lifted interest rates to their highest level in six years and many analysts expect more rate rises.

Falling fast?

Last week, the Bank of England raised UK interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.5%.

It was the fourth time that borrowing costs have been increased since August last year, and came after the Bank of England was forced to write a letter to the government explaining why Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation had risen above 3%.

The fact that inflation is out of letter-writing territory has given a psychological boost to interest rate markets Philip Shaw, Investec chief economist

Many analysts are predicting that rates will climb by another quarter point despite the slowdown in price growth.

The Bank of England is due to release its three-monthly inflation report on Wednesday, and observers will now be looking to see if it has changed its language about the outlook for inflation.

Speaking at the end April, Bank of England governor Mervyn King said there could be a "sharp" decline in the UK's rate of inflation over the next four to six months and that he was determined to bring inflation back towards its 2% target.

Analysts said that that Bank would welcome the dip in inflation, especially as it had fallen within a key target range of between 2% and 3%.

"The fact that inflation is out of letter-writing territory has given a psychological boost to interest rate markets," said Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec.

'Clear evidence'

Already there are signs that some of the main drivers of price growth over the past months have eased.

According to the ONS, a decline in gas and electricity prices knocked 0.23 percentage points off the inflation rate in April.

Since then, a number of other suppliers have also cut prices, increasing the deflationary effect.

However, there was a large increase in the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which added 6%, while clothing and footwear were little changed.

"Inflation should trend down markedly over the coming months due to favourable base effects and lower gas and electricity bills," said Howard Archer of Global Insight. "Nevertheless, longer-term inflation risks persist."

"Consequently, unless there is clear evidence that underlying price pressures are easing, we suspect that a majority of MPC members will want to take out some further insurance against the longer-term inflationary dangers," he said.