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| Summer clothing sales hold back inflation | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Inflation remained at 2.4% for the third month in a row in June, according to the Office for National Statistics, after clothing prices fell. | |
| The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation had been expected to rise to 2.6% last month. | The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation had been expected to rise to 2.6% last month. |
| However, the summer sales weighed on inflation after clothing prices were cut, in particular on men's fashion. | |
| The unchanged figure means that wages remain above inflation despite pay growth slowing to 2.7%. | |
| There had been expectations that the Bank of England would raise interest rates in August. | |
| But Ben Brettell, Senior Economist, Hargreaves Lansdown, said that June's figure meant it is not "a done deal". | |
| He said: "Markets had been pricing in around an 80% chance the bank would lift borrowing costs in August, but today's inflation data combined with yesterday's lacklustre wage growth figures could force policymakers into a rethink." | |
| The pound fell against the dollar following the surprise reading, slipping 0.60% to $1.3037. | |
| The ONS said that the price of clothing and footwear fell by 2.3% between May and June compared to a 1.1% decline in the same period last year. | |
| While it said it was normal for prices to drop at this time of year due to the start of the summer sales season, the ONS said the fall was the largest since 2012 and "the effect came mainly from men's clothing". |