Inflation steady
Dearer food and travel costs offset by cheaper clothes meant that in February the annual rate of inflation on the measure favoured by union negotiators — the Retail Prices Index — was steady at 2.5%.
Inflation under the Consumer Prices Index Housing (CPIH) was steady at 1.8%. Under the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), it edged up to 1.9% from 1.8%. That’s just below the 2% inflation target used by the Bank of England in setting interest rates.