UK inflation holds steady as petrol prices hit their highest level in 4 years

Reuters

• Inflation holds steady at 2.4% in the UK in June, according to fresh data from the Office for National Statistics.
• That was largely down to the rising price of fuel, with petrol prices hitting their highest in four years in the month.
• The UK's rate of inflation has been steadily dropping since the beginning of 2018.

The rising cost of fuel is holding up an otherwise falling rate of inflation in the UK, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, released on Wednesday.

Britain's headline rate of consumer price inflation (CPI) was 2.4% in the month of June, unchanged from the previous month. That, however, was almost entirely down to the rising price of petrol - which itself has been triggered by steadily rising oil prices.

"Petrol prices rose by 2.7 pence per litre between May and June 2018 to stand at 128.0 pence per litre in June, the highest average price since September 2014," the ONS said in its release.

Without the increased price of fuel, the ONS said, it is likely that the UK's headline rate of inflation would have dropped in the month, continuing a steady decline witnessed throughout 2018.

"Consumers have been feeling the benefit of the summer clothing sales, and computer game prices have also fallen," Mike Hardie, the ONS' head of inflation said in a statement.

"However, gas and electricity and petrol prices all rose, with consumers seeing the highest price at the pump for nearly four years, with inflation remaining steady overall," he added.