UK Retail Price Index (Jul MM) 0.6% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 0.3%)

RPI is a legacy measure, no longer classed as a national statistic, and the market-relevant channel is narrower than for CPI: the print feeds directly into the uplift on index-linked gilts and into RPI-referenced contracts, so a below-consensus monthly reading trims the accretion carry on linkers rather than shifting the rate debate. The distinction worth drawing is between the monthly print and the year-on-year rate, since index-linked cash flows key off the annual figure with its lag structure, and a softer month can still leave the annual rate elevated depending on base effects. RPI runs structurally above CPI owing to its formula and housing coverage, so direction and surprise relative to consensus matter more than the level itself. For monetary policy the Bank keys off CPI, and softer RPI alone has historically not moved the front end; gilt repricing on these prints tends to concentrate in the linker curve and breakevens rather than in SONIA. The follow-on is the CPI release in the same data round, which carries the policy weight and sets whether this miss is corroborated.