UK consumer inflation slows slightly in May, retail prices steady

UK consumer price inflation data was in line with consensus for May, except for the core index, the Office for National Statistics reported on Wednesday.

Consumer prices rose 0.2% on a monthly basis in May, slowing from 1.2% in April and in line with FXStreet-cited consensus.

Annually, CPI came in at 3.4% against 3.5% on-year growth for April, also in line with consensus.

The core consumer price index posted 3.5% on an annual basis, against the prior month’s 3.8% growth and slightly below consensus which pencilled in 3.6% growth.

Earlier in June the ONS reported that the UK’s headline inflation figure was 0.1 percentage points too high for April due to an error in the vehicle tax data collected.

Official data published last month showed that CPI rose to 3.5% in April, but the ONS later said that it had since spotted an error in the vehicle excise duty data provided by the Department for Transport.

The retail price index for May posted 0.2% on-month growth, against April’s 1.7% rise. Annual growth was 4.3%, in line with consensus and slowing from 4.5% inflation.

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