British inflation unexpectedly slowed for the first time since October last month, adding to the likelihood that the Bank of England will keep interest rates at a record low in August.
Consumer prices rose by 2.6 percent compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday, down from a nearly four-year high of 2.9 percent in May.
The fall was the sharpest between any two months since February 2015, largely reflecting a fall in global oil prices, and there were signs of slowing price pressure in factories.
Britain’s inflation rate has risen sharply since last year’s referendum decision to leave the European Union which pushed down the value of the pound, making imports more expensive.
The BoE has been taken by the surprise by the speed of the increase this year. Its most recent forecasts saw inflation peaking at 2.8 percent later in 2017 while most economists have said they expect inflation to reach at least 3 percent.
The BoE did accurately predict that inflation in June would be 2.6 percent.
The BoE has so far chosen not to respond by raising rates, saying the Brexit hit to the pound is likely to be temporary.
However, some officials at the central bank signalled recently that a rate hike might be on the way. Three of the BoE’s eight rate setters voted to raise rates in June although one of the dissenters has since left
A poll of economists published today showed the BoE was expected to keep rates on hold throughout 2017 and 2018, as it waits to see if wages catch up with price rises and how the economy copes with the approach of Brexit.