Air fares see inflation rise

heathrow

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI), measured the rate of inflation at 0.1 per cent, up from Aprils figures of -0.1 per cent.

According to the Office for National Statistics, transport costs had been the main cause for the rise in inflation.

ONS statistician Philip Gooding said: “Last month CPI turned negative, mainly because of falling transport fares due to the timing of Easter. This month, that fall has been reversed.”

Air fares have had a part to play in the cause for the rise in inflation, as easter, a time renowned for holidays, was earlier in 2015 than in 2014.

Although prices for items such as food and fuel had risen in May, the prices were still lower than a year earlier.

Negative inflation “proved both marginal and fleeting”, said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight.

As well as this, Chancellor George Osborne said: “a powerful mix of low prices and rising wages” was “good news for working people and family budgets”.

Even though inflation is still positive, the rate of inflation is still very low, and forecasts suggest that inflation may dip back down into negative figures in June and July.