Inflation rate down again

Prices in the UK are rising at their slowest rate since the end of 2009, official figures have shown.

The annual inflation rate as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell to 2.4% in June, from 2.8% in May, the Office for National Statistics said.

The rate of inflation, which indicates how fast prices are rising compared with a year earlier, is slowing due to lower food, fuel and clothing prices.

(The Retail Prices Index, which includes housing costs, fell to 2.8% from 3.1%.)

This is the third month in a row that CPI has fallen.

The biggest contributor to the fall from May was clothing and footwear, which was 4.2% lower. This could be due to retailers starting their summer sales earlier, the ONS said.

The price of football shirts was "a notable exception" to this downward trend, it said.

Petrol prices fell by 4.3 pence per litre on the month, to £1.33 a litre on average. Diesel was down 4.7p to an average of £1.39.

Overall, alcohol and transport costs were down by 0.5%.

Food prices were 0.1% lower. The biggest falls seen were in meat prices, the ONS said, with reports of weather affecting demand. This could be down to the wet weather leading people to cancel summer barbecues.

The slowing of the inflation rate brings it closer to the Bank of England's target of 2%.

After such a long period of above-target inflation rates, the fall could mean that the Bank is more willing to inject extra money into the economy, through its stimulus programme known as quantitative easing.

Earlier this month, the Bank said it would pump a further £50bn into the economy over the next four months through QE, taking the total size of the programme to £375bn.