Inflation rate remains at 1.8%

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) - a key measure of inflation - has stayed at 1.8% in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The CPI, the measure of the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households, had been expected by economists to decline to 1.5%.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation measure, which includes mortgage interest payments, also unexpectedly rose to -1.4% in July from the previous month's -1.6%.

Although these figures are positive news for the economy, many economists are still predicting that inflation will continue to drop.

"We expect that this halt in the downward trend in inflation will prove to be only temporary,' said Vicky Redwood, an economist at Capital Economics.

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