UK public inflation expectations stable in April - Citi-YouGov

LONDON (Reuters) - The British public's expectations for inflation over the coming year remained steady in April, despite previous sharp rises in the country's most closely watched measures of price growth, a monthly survey by bank Citi and polling firm YouGov showed. Expectations for inflation in a year's time held at 2.5 percent in April, unchanged from March. Britain's consumer price inflation - targeted by the Bank of England - held at 2.3 percent in the year to March, unchanged from February but still at levels last seen in 2013, while retail price inflation, used in many commercial contracts, dipped to 3.1 percent. Inflation expectations for five to 10 years' time fell back to 2.9 percent from 3.0 percent in March. Citi said moves like this could simply be fluctuations in its inflation tracker, but it added that further sustained falls could strengthen the argument of those Bank of England policymakers who want to keep interest rates unchanged. The Citi survey was based on a YouGov poll of 2,057 adults conducted on April 20 and April 21. (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)