UK shoppers have been hit with the sharpest price hike in nine years as the annual inflation rate jumped to 1.5 percent in January, latest figures showed. The latest BRC–NielsenIQ shop price index, published on Tuesday, said January’s inflation rate nearly doubled December’s rate of 0.8 percent, and is the highest since December 2012. The figure was also above the 12-month average decrease of 0.6 and six-month average price rise of 0.1 percent. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said the price hike was driven by a sharp rise in non-food inflation. “In particular, furniture and flooring saw exceptionally high demand leading to increased prices as the rising oil costs made shipping more expensive,” Dickinson said. The non-food inflation rate in January rose to 0.9 percent compared to a o.2 percent fall in the previous month, while the 12- and six-month average non-food price changes were -1.3 percent and -0.4 percent, respectively. Food …