The headline rate of inflation proved surprisingly resilient last month because of higher than expected food and alcohol prices – confounding expectations among City economists of a fall.

From the Guardian:

The headline rate of inflation proved surprisingly resilient last month because of higher than expected food and alcohol prices – confounding expectations among City economists of a fall.

The government’s preferred measure of inflation, the consumer prices index (CPI), rose to an annual rate of 3.2% in February from 3% the month before, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. Economists had expected it to drop to 2.6%.

Higher food prices, in particular meat and vegetables, alongside soft drinks and alcohol, were responsible as the weaker pound and a poor crop in Spain made some imported products more expensive. Alcohol prices are now rising at the fastest rate since 1992.

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