No change in inflation rate as figure higher than expected

There has been no change to the rate of inflation which remained at 2%, the target rate for the Bank of England, according to official figures.

It means prices in June rose at the same rate as in May, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

The figure is higher than expected, economists had forecast a slight fall to 1.9%.

The absence of a fall is likely to be unwelcome news to the interest-rate setters at the Bank of England who have kept borrowing high to bring inflation down to 2%.

An interest rate cut would be good news for mortgage holders and people paying back other forms of debt like loans or credit card bills.

But the market expectation is still on a knife edge as to whether there'll be a cut in August.

Key figures possibly influencing Bank of England officials to leave the interest rate unchanged are two other measures of inflation - services and core.

The cost of services grew by 5.7% - the same as a month earlier.

Similarly core inflation, which excludes fuel and food in measuring price rises, stayed at 3.5%.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.