Rising food prices trigger inflation rise

Higher petrol prices at the pumps and dearer food pushed the inflation rate higher. In January, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rose by 4.1% compared with 4.0% the previous month.

Meanwhile, inflation under the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which excludes housing costs and is the government’s preferred measure, was up to 2.2% in January from 2.1% in the previous three months.