LONDON: UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation turned negative in April for the first time on record, falling to -0.1%, official figures show.
It is the first time CPI has turned negative since 1960, based on comparable historic estimates, the Office for National Statistics said.
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The biggest contribution to the fall came from a drop in air and sea fares.
The Bank of England has previously warned that inflation could turn negative for a brief period this year.
Chancellor George Osborne said the fall in the inflation rate was only temporary.
“We should not mistake this for damaging deflation,” Mr Osborne said in a statement, adding that the lower cost of living driven by last year’s fall in oil prices would be a welcome relief for family budgets, in an environment in which average wages were finally beginning to rise.
“Of course, we have to remain vigilant to deflationary risks and our system is well equipped to deal with them, should they arise,” he added.
The latest inflation figure means that a basket of goods and services that cost £100 in April 2014 would have cost £99.90 in April this year.
The last time CPI inflation was negative, according to estimates by the ONS, was March 1960, when prices were 0.6% lower.
Inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) in April remained unchanged from the month before at 0.9%.
