Fuel and food prices are rising so fast that it helped send UK inflation to another 30-year high in March, even before household energy bills spiked, according to official figures. The Office for National Statistics said Consumer Prices Index inflation rose to 7 per cent in the year to March, up from 6.2 per cent in February.

It was once more the highest point since March 1992, when inflation stood at 7.1 per cent. The rise was higher than the 6.7 per cent that analysts had expected and was driven by fuel, restaurant and food prices. But the increase does not even take into account the average 54 per cent increase in energy bills that was applied to about 22 million households two weeks ago.

This will not appear in inflation figures until next month, when April’s data is expected to show another jump in inflation and demonstrate the increased squeeze on ordinary people. The Bank of England has predicted that inflation could peak at around 8 per cent in April. – Reuters