UK inflation holds at 2.8% as food price rises ease
UK consumer price inflation held at 2.8% in the 12 months to May, the Office for National Statistics reported, unchanged from April and below expectations that price growth would accelerate. A slowdown in food price rises offset upward pressure building from the Iran war, which has pushed up global energy costs.
The flat reading is a modest relief for the Bank of England, which has been wary that conflict-driven energy prices could feed through into broader inflation over the coming months. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the data showed inflation had “held steady” despite the war pushing prices up globally.
The steadier print gives the central bank a little more room as it weighs the path of interest rates, though officials have flagged that the inflationary effect of higher oil prices may still arrive later in the year.