BUSINESS LIVE: Inflation slows to 1.7%; Whitbread eyes £300m profit boost; Just Eat hit by US slump

Consumer price inflation eased more quickly than expected in September, falling from 2.2 to 1.7 per cent, data from the Office for National Statistics shows. 

Last month’s inflation reading was below market expectations of 1.9 per cent and boosts the case for further Bank of England interest rate cuts in November. 

The FTSE 100 will open at 8am. Among the companies with reports and trading updates today are Whitbread, Just Eat, Quilter and Vertu Motors. Read the Wednesday 16 October Business Live blog below.

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