Cheaper fuel sees surprise inflation drop to 2.6% in June

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation fell to 2.6% growth in June, down from 2.9% the month before.

While the fall was below economists’ expectations of 2.9%, the cost of living has remained above the Bank of England’s target of 2%.

The move will ease the pressure on consumers, who have seen their pay squeezed by sluggish wage growth and higher inflation triggered by the Brexit-hit pound.

It comes after annual total pay in real terms sank by 0.7% to its lowest level since the summer of 2014 in the three months to May and fell by 0.5% excluding bonuses over the period.

Jonathan Athow, ONS deputy national statistician, said: “Today’s fall in inflation is mainly due to drops in petrol and diesel prices. However, the rate remains higher than in the recent past.”

The main downward pressure on the cost of living came from fuel, which saw the fourth consecutive month of falling prices, dropping 1.1% between May and June.

Petrol prices dropped by 1.1p over the period to 115.3p per litre, while diesel also declined by 1.4p to 117.3p.

Recreational and cultural goods, which includes computer games, was also driving overall prices lower after dropping by 0.1% on the month following a rise of 0.6% over the same period last year.

Upward pressure on everyday prices came from food, which saw costs ease back by a smaller 0.3% in June compared with a 0.4% fall for the same month in 2016.

Last month’s drop was driven by a slide in the price of chocolates and sweets, which caused the overall category for sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery to drop by 2.6%.

Sterling sank on the news as lower inflation means the Bank of England is less likely to raise interest rates from record lows of 0.25%.

The pound, which had touched $1.31 earlier in the day, slipped back to 1.30 US dollars.

The UK currency fell by 0.5% against the euro to j1.13.