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(Reuters) - British consumer price inflation held steady at a record-low zero percent in March, official figures showed on Tuesday, boosting households' disposable income before May 7's election. The Office for National Statistics said consumer prices rose 0.2 percent between February and March but compared with a year earlier, prices were unchanged, in line with economists' forecasts. 
 The ONS added that if the price change was calculated to two decimal places, however, prices were 0.01 percent lower than a year before, which would be first fall on record in consumer price inflation on that measure. Inflation has not been this weak since at least 1989, when comparable data began. The ONS said that a rough estimate based on other figures suggested inflation was the weakest since isolated price falls in 1959 and 1960.

 This leaves inflation well below the BoE's 2 percent target and the headline measure calculated to one decimal point is expected to dip below zero. But for now few economists think Britain is at risk of the Japanese-style entrenched price falls that have threatened the euro zone.