The increase from May’s 2.7 percent rate, reported Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics, was slightly less than anticipated and may provide policymakers at the Bank of England some relief as they work out what further measures they can take to help the British economy.
Though the Bank has a target to keep inflation around 2 percent, policymakers have shown a greater willingness of late to look past temporary increases amid fears that raising interest rates to lower inflation would hurt the recovery.
Unlike the U.S. Federal Reserve, which aims to control inflation and also increase employment, the Bank of England’s exclusive mission has been to keep inflation close to target.