UK CPI up 2.4% in July

08/15/06 - newratings.com

LONDON, August 15 (newratings.com) – The UK consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.4% in the year to July, the government said on Tuesday.

The annual rate of inflation moderated last month, from a 2.5% rise in June, with consumer prices down by 0.1% month-over-month, as compared to a 0.3% rise in June, according to the data published by the Office for National Statistics. The index remained ahead of the Bank of England's (BoE) target for July. The underlying rate of retail price inflation, which excludes mortgage interest payments, remained unchanged at 3.1%. The BoE said last week that the CPI rate could rise to around 2.7% in 2006 and that there was a 50% probability of inflation pushing above the 3% mark within the forthcoming six months.