U.K. Inflation Rises More than Forecast in June

The U.K. economy continued to surprise the market port-Brexit as inflation rose more than forecast in June.

Consumer price index which measures inflation rose from 0.3 percent recorded in May to 0.5 percent in June, according to the Office for National Statistics in London on Tuesday.

Core inflation which excludes energy prices and volatile food items improved to 1.4 percent.

The improvement was attributed to European air travel that saw airfares jumped 11 percent in June from May, possibly due to the Euro 2016 football Championship in France. Also, the rise in fuel cost helped boost inflation gauge.

The data that was largely collated before the Britain exit the European Union is yet to reflect the effect of the exit. The July data due on Aug. 16 will be the first to capture post-referendum period.

Chris Williamson, a chief economist at IHS Markit said the rise in inflation was “likely to be the start of a rising trend in prices as costs march higher in response to the recent slump in sterling.”