By Jonathan Davies
The UK's rate of inflation fell to 0.0% in June, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Inflation, as measured by the Consumers Prices Index (CPI), fell from 0.1% in May.
The ONS said food prices and clothing were the biggest contributors to the fall. Inflation was also hit by slower than expected rises in air fares.
The governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney has said he expects inflation to remain low in the short term, before rising gradually over the next few years.
Jeremy Cook, chief economist at the international payments company, World First, said: “Low and negligible inflation has been a story for most of 2015 and I think that we will see that continue until the end of the year, when the initial falls in global energy prices were first seen.
“Clothes prices rose substantially in June of last year, not least due to the effects of the weather, and the subsequent fall since has — alongside falls in airline ticket prices — dragged the overall number lower. Core prices are also slightly lower on the month courtesy of those air fares and persistent GBP strength, and all of this tends to back up the belief that the UK economy is not seeing wage nor cost price inflation in their truest senses just yet. As a result, there will be little impact on rate rise expectations in the near-term."
