UK CPIH inflation falls to 2.8% and CPI to 2.6% in June 2026

UK consumer price inflation slowed in the 12 months to June 2026, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on 22 July 2026. The Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs (CPIH) rose by 2.8%, down from 3.0% in the 12 months to May, while the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 2.6%, down from 2.8%¹.

On a monthly basis, CPIH rose by 0.2% in June 2026, compared with a rise of 0.3% in June 2025, and CPI rose by 0.1%, compared with a rise of 0.3% a year earlier¹. The ONS said the June CPIH 12-month rate was the lowest since September 2024, when it was 2.6%, and that the CPI rate was last lower in December 2024, at 2.5%¹.

Core CPIH, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, was unchanged at 2.8%, and core CPI was unchanged at 2.6%¹. The CPIH goods annual rate slowed from 2.0% to 1.7%, while the CPIH services annual rate was unchanged at 3.6%; the CPI services annual rate eased from 3.7% to 3.6%¹.

The ONS said transport, and food and non-alcoholic beverages made the largest downward contributions to the monthly change in both the CPIH and CPI annual rates¹. Transport prices rose by 5.7% over the 12 months to June 2026, down from 6.8% in May, with the largest downward effect from motor fuels, particularly diesel¹. The average price of diesel fell by 10.7 pence per litre between May and June 2026, to 176.4 pence per litre, while petrol fell by 2.1 pence per litre, to 155.3 pence per litre¹. The ONS said this was the first time petrol prices had eased since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, on 28 February 2026¹. Overall motor fuel prices rose by 21.3% in the 12 months to June 2026, compared with 24.6% in the 12 months to May¹.

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose by 1.7% in the 12 months to June 2026, down from 2.2% in May, the lowest annual rate since August 2024¹. Clothing and footwear prices fell by 0.5% over the 12 months to June 2026, compared with a rise of 0.2% in May¹. Restaurants and hotels inflation rose to 4.4% from 4.2%, and housing and household services was unchanged at 2.7%¹.

The ONS said the owner occupiers' housing (OOH) costs component accounts for approximately 18% of CPIH and is the main driver of differences between the CPIH and CPI rates¹. The OOH 12-month rate was 3.3% in June 2026, unchanged from May¹.

Why it matters for households

Inflation is a measure of how fast prices are rising, not of prices falling. A 2.8% CPIH rate means the average basket of goods and services covered by that index cost 2.8% more in June 2026 than a year earlier¹. The easing in the headline rate reflects smaller increases in transport and food prices, and a fall in clothing and footwear prices, rather than broad price falls¹.

The figures feed into the real returns on cash savings, because a savings rate below the inflation rate means the money buys less over time. They also matter for anyone whose income or payments are linked to inflation, and for households tracking the difference between the headline CPI and CPIH measures and the costs they actually face. The ONS publishes a separate Household Costs Index, which tracks inflation as different households experience it.

The ONS also noted changes to how the data is compiled: scanner data now covers approximately 50% of the grocery market, introduced with the February 2026 index published on 25 March 2026, and the dataset no longer includes price quote data for food and non-alcoholic beverages, and alcohol and tobacco from publication in March 2026¹. It said Table 55, which provided time series of prices for petrol and diesel, has not been published since 19 February 2025 and the two series have been discontinued¹.

What happens next

The next consumer price inflation release is scheduled for 19 August 2026¹. The ONS said the June 2026 bulletin is not the latest release¹.