The rising cost of food, alcohol and tobacco contributed to a small growth in the rate of inflation between January and February 2019, new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) reveal.
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 1.9% in February 2019, up from 1.8% in January 2019.
Price rises across a range of recreational and cultural goods also produced an upward contribution.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages also rose by more between January and February this year than between the same two months a year ago.
The main upward contributions came from bread and cereals, where prices rose by more than in 2018, and vegetables, where prices rose this year but fell a year ago.
A final small upward contribution came from alcohol and tobacco, particularly tobacco where prices rose by more between January and February 2019 than between the same two months a year ago.
Commenting on the figures, ONS head of inflation Mike Hardie said: “The rate of inflation is stable, with a modest rise in food as well as alcohol and tobacco offset by clothing and footwear prices rising by less than they did a year ago.”
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