Inflation eases as motor insurance and rents soar

Motor insurance costs and private rents have soared in the past year, even as the prices of many other goods and services have fallen sharply, the latest inflation figures show.

The CSO said that its consumer price index showed that prices across the economy rose only slightly last month and had fallen in the year to June. The CPI rose 0.3% in June, but fell 0.1% from a year earlier.

However, the figures showed the declines in the overall index mask sharp rises in car insurance —up almost 16% in the past year.