Oil price fall leads to raw materials costs drop in UK

Lower crude oil prices during June helped raw material costs in the UK fall by their largest amount since October 2001, official figures showed today.

The office of National Statistics said input prices, on a seasonally-adjusted basis, fell by 1.6% in June from the previous month, against expectations of a 0.9% decline.

A spokesman for the statistics office said the main factor behind the monthly decline was the 7.7% fall in crude oil prices between May and June in light of the Opec's decision to raise production levels amid soaring prices.

On a year-on-year basis, input prices rose by 3.4% against forecasts of a 4.0% pick-up.