UK annual inflation falls to 2.4 percent

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

T-shirts with a rioter holding an Olympic ring is displayed at a London store.

British 12-month inflation fell to a rate of 2.4 percent in June -- which was the lowest level for two and a half years, official data showed yesterday.

The annual inflation rate dropped from a level of 2.8 percent in May to reach the lowest point since November 2009, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Market expectations had been for the annual rate to remain at 2.8 percent, according to analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

An ONS spokesman said steep falls in clothing and footwear drove the annual inflation rate lower. It cited anecdotal evidence that shops were holding summer sales in June rather than July in a bid to boost business, as wet weather conditions kept shoppers at home. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) meanwhile dipped by 0.4 percent in June on a month-on-month basis, the ONS added.