British inflation hit a near four-year low in April as oil prices crashed, official data showed Wednesday, with the rate set to slide further as the coronavirus slashes prices generally.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual rate slumped to 0.8 percent last month from 1.5 percent in March, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.

Analysts' consensus forecast had been for a slide to 0.9 percent.

"The fall in the headline rate of CPI inflation in April to its lowest level since August 2016 primarily was due to a 0.6 percentage-point reduction in the contribution from energy prices," noted Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.