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That compared with a 3.3% figure in May, the Office for National Statistics said.
The RPI inflation rate was 4.6%.
The Bank of England has already said it expects price growth to continue this year, and may top 4% before December.
The worry for analysts is that interest rates may have to rise to cool inflation at a time when growth is slowing and consumer demand is waning.
The figures, which came in above forecasts for the third month in a row, mean the Bank of England will now have less breathing space to cut interest rates.
The Bank is currently trying to balance growing evidence of an economic slowdown against the problem of rising inflation.
"The Bank of England can't cut rates until it is convinced inflation is moving downwards," said James Knightley, economist at ING.
Food and non-alcoholic drinks were the main factors fuelling the rise, with prices increasing by a record 2.1%, the ONS said.
Meanwhile, surging oil prices have driven up the cost of fuel with the average price of petrol increasing by 5.3p a litre.
(BBC)
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