Inflation unchanged
Inflation in the UK remained unchanged in February as price rises were balanced out by slow household sales.
This is the third month in the row that the Government’s preferred measure, CPI, has stayed at 1.6 per cent.
Transport costs rose, with increases in airfares and the cost of sulphur fuels, although there was no repeat of the increases seen in some sea routes in 2004.
Furthermore, a harsh winter on the Continent limited supplies of salad items, pushing up prices.
A number of commodity groups were responsible for downward effects: in particular, the recovery in sales for furniture and household equipment was not as strong as the recovery experienced in the previous year.
The month also saw cuts in prices in the recreation sector, most notably in the computer game market.
These factors also contributed to an unchanged RPI inflation rate of 3.2 per cent with an annual rate for all RPI items, excluding mortgage interest payments, of 2.1 per cent, the level as the previous month.
As an internationally comparable measure of inflation, the CPI shows that the UK inflation rate has been amongst the lowest in the EU since the start of 2000.
The average inflation rate for the enlarged EU 25 in February was 2.1 per cent, compared with just 1.6 per cent in the UK.
