UK economists were left scratching their heads yesterday, as inflation rose, against all expectations.
The consumer price index, which calculates the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households, increased to 3.2 per cent in the year to February, from 3 per cent a month earlier.
Higher import prices, brought on by the almost 28 per cent drop in the sterling’s value since the summer of 2007, was believed to be a major factor.
Rising food prices were responsible for faster-than-expected increases overall. Food inflation rose to 12.5 per cent in February, compared with 11.1 per cent in January.
Prices for fresh vegetables increased by 18.6 per cent, in part due to the rise in prices of cucumbers and courgettes following the poor Spanish harvest.
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