Apple has cancelled plans to lower the price of music downloads for UK users of its iTunes store.

The technological giant had claimed last year that it would cut the price of mp3s bought by British music fans in order to give them a price more in line with that paid by users on the continent.

But after exchange fluctuations created greater parity between the prices of mp3s in both British pounds and euros, Apple has announced that UK downloads will remain at 79p per file.

The iPod manufacturer had revealed in January this year that “within six months it will lower the prices it charges for music on its UK iTunes Store to match the already standardised pricing on iTunes across Europe”.

“This is an important step towards a pan-European marketplace for music,” Apple chief executive Steve Job had said at the time.

“We hope every major record label will take a pan-European view of pricing.”

But with the value of the euro rising against the British pound, €0.99 – the price of an mp3 file in most of Europe – now equates to 74p, the price paid by UK shoppers.

As such, Apple will no longer proceed with the planned UK price cut, the BBC reports.

“The announcement was that we would match the UK price to that of other lower priced European countries,” an Apple spokesman is quoted as saying.

“This is no longer necessary as exchange rates have effectively done it for us.”

US-based users of iTunes pay $0.99 (49p or €0.62) per mp3 file.