Inflation fell more than expected in Britain last month, easing pressure on the Bank of England to push interest rates higher for longer.

The consumer prices index fell to 7.9pc in June, according to the Office for National Statistics, which was down from 8.7pc in May and below economists’ predictions of a drop to 8.2pc.

However, the figure remains nearly four times the Bank of England’s target of 2pc.

Nevertheless, policymakers will have been releived by the so-called core inflation data ahead of their August 3 meeting.

The figure - which excludes the price of energy, food, alcohol and tobacco - which fell to 6.9pc in June, down from 7.1pc the previous month and below economists expectations that it would remain unchanged.

Rishi Sunak said earlier this week that inflation is not coming down as quickly as he would like, casting doubts over the Government’s pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year.

The Prime Minister has made halving consumer prices index inflation to around 5.3pc by the end of 2023 of his key priorities, but admitted it is “taking longer than any of us would like” to bring it down.

The data signals more economic pain for borrowers, even after the Bank of England has delivered 13 consecutive increases since late 2021.

Before the data was released, traders expected rates to peak at 6.25pc, their highest level since 1999.

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