The Retail Prices Index also remained flat, staying at 5.2%.
The main contributors to both indices, food and fuel, were both up 1.3% on April, with fuel prices now 13.7% higher than where they were 12 months ago. Air transport costs fell as the Easter peak impacted April’s figures rather than May’s.
Core inflation, which takes out the more volatile food and fuel measures, fell from 3.7% in April, a record high, to 3.3%.
The market had expected inflation to remain fairly flat given April’s figure of 4.5% was up 0.5% on March and was the highest recorded rate since October 2008. The Bank of England and analysts expect inflation to breech the 5% mark by the end of the summer.
These same commentators also expect inflation to reduce as we move through 2011, partly as rising energy prices are absorbed as is the affect of the VAT increase.
