UK inflation rate slides to 7.9% in June, below expectations

LONDON — U.K. inflation cooled significantly in June, coming in below consensus expectations at 7.9% annually.

Economists polled by Reuters had projected an annual rise in the headline consumer price index of 8.2%, following May’s hotter-than-expected 8.7% reading, but annualized price rises continue to run well above the Bank of England‘s 2% target.

On a monthly basis, headline CPI increased by 0.1%, below a consensus forecast of 0.4%. Core inflation — which excludes volatile energy, food, alcohol and tobacco prices — remained sticky at an annualized 6.9%, but fell from a 31-year high of 7.1%…