The rate of Consumer Prices Index inflation was up from 10.1 per cent in January, the Office for National Statistics said, despite the Bank saying last month it believed inflation had peaked from its high of 11.1 per cent late last year. Analysts still expect inflation to fall over the course of 2023 as sky-high energy bills - the main driver of inflation - start to come down with falls in gas and electricity costs.
Most economists were expecting CPI to decrease to 9.9 per cent in February and say the surprise rise was due to a shortage of vegetables pushing up the price of food, as well as alcohol prices in pubs and restaurants rising after going down in January.
Economists had been on the fence about whether Britain's central bank will opt for another rate rise at the next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, following a period of instability in the global banking sector.
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