Inflation in the UK rose unexpectedly last month as vegetable shortages pushed food prices to their highest rate in more than 45 years, official figures show.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 10.4 percent in the 12 months to February 2023, up from 10.1 percent in January but below a recent peak of 11.1 percent in October 2022.
The inflation rise is a surprise because most economists had expected CPI to fall to 9.9 percent in February.
On a monthly basis, CPI rose by 1.1 percent in February, compared with a rise of 0.8 percent in the same month last year….