UK June inflation undershoots market expectations, ONS says

LONDON, United Kingdom — Britain's annual inflation rate eased in June, undershooting market expectations, according to data released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics. The decline was driven mainly by lower fuel prices, the ONS figures showed. The drop from the previous month's reading pointed to a modest easing of cost-of-living pressures in the UK. Analysts noted that whether the slowdown is sustained will become clearer with data from the coming months, cautioning against reading a single monthly print as a decisive trend. Earlier ONS releases indicate that UK inflation has been on a downward trajectory since the start of the year. The government did not issue an official statement in response to the data. The latest figures landed in the early days of newly appointed Prime Minister Andy Burnham's tenure, giving him an initial positive economic indicator shortly after taking office.