Osborne celebrates as inflation rises to 0.1% - but is the end of deflation in the UK simply a matter of timing?

ONS analysts said early Easter holidays were to blame for April deflation

Fears about the UK’s momentary slip into deflation in April have abated after numbers from the Office of National Statistics show that inflation rebounded in May.

The price of basket of goods for UK households - known as the consumer price index - rose 0.1 per cent in April, the ONS said.

The UK Chancellor George Osborne said that the inflation figures were a sign of "an economic plan that is working".

ONS analysts countered this with the fact that the UK may have momentarily slipped into deflation, where prices decrease year on year, in April because of timing.

Easter fell early in 2015, missing the April data collection period. Increases in fares over the Easter weekend were not captured, which means this year’s data did not look as good as last year’s.

Petrol prices have increased by 2.5p per litre between April and May in 2015, but are still lower than there were this time last year, so they’re still dragging inflation down. Food increased in price in some cases, but not so much as in games and toys or computer equipment such as printers and routers.