The UK inflation rate rose in March, however it remained below expectations as the price of vehicle fuels and clothing rose.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) hit 0.7 per cent in March, following a 0.4 per cent reading in February and 0.7 per cent in January.
Inflation had unexpectedly eased in February, in part because of the biggest annual fall in clothing and footwear costs since 2009. However this was partially offset by a drop in food costs.
Discounting, which had been commonplace in February, eased somewhat in March, the ONS said. However it was still unseasonably high.
Inflation is expected to increase this year, as the UK and other countries around the world emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
Bank of England forecasts have inflation reaching around two per cent by the end of 2021.
A consensus of analysts supplied by Pantheon Macroeconomics was that CPI would rise to 0.8 per cent in March.
Fuel prices stood at an average 123.7p per litre in March 2021, compared with 119.4p per litre in March 2020 and a recent low of 106.2p per litre in May 2020.
Clothing and footwear prices also climbed during March, ahead of the opening of non-essential shops earlier this month.
They increased by 1.6 per cent compared with a fall of 0.3 per cent between the same period in the previous year.
