UK inflation last month eased back to the Bank of England's target level of 2.0% for the first time in almost three years.
The consumer price index was up 2.0% year-on-year in May, the Office for National Statistics revealed, in line with the average economist forecast and the first time it's been at that level since July 2021.
The headline CPI rate eased from 2.3% the month before as CPI rose 0.3% on a monthly basis, which was lower than the 0.4% consensus forecast from economists.
Core CPI, which excluded more volatile prices like food and fuel, was up 3.5%, softening from the 3.9% in the previous month.
Services CPI, which is closely followed by the BoE's monetary policy committee as a signifier for the persistence of inflation, eased less than expected in May to 5.7% from 5.9% a month earlier, when it had been forecast to drop to 5.5%.