Inflation climbs to 1.9% in February - ONS

Rising prices for food, alcohol and tobacco saw inflation edge higher to 1.9% last month, official figures show.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation was up from 1.8% in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It remains below the 2% target set by the Bank of England - which on Thursday is expected to leave interest rates on hold when it announces its latest monetary policy decision.

ONS head of inflation Mike Hardie said: "The rate of inflation is stable, with a modest rise in food as well as alcohol and tobacco offset by clothing and footwear prices rising by less than they did a year ago."

The slight acceleration in the rise in the cost of living comes after Ofgem's energy bill price cap helped push inflation to a two-year low in January.

In February, the rising prices of bread, cereals and vegetables, as well as computer games, helped push CPI higher.

But the increase was held back by the clothing and footwear market, where prices recovered from January sales discounts more modestly than the year before.

The figures reaffirm that wage growth - which latest figures put at 3.4% - continues to outpace the rise in the cost of living.

Economists expect that leaving the EU with no deal would see inflation spike as a fall in the pound pushes up import prices while some goods become subject to tariffs.

That could leave the Bank of England with a tricky task in deciding on interest rates - which it might want to cut to help deal with an economic crisis even while soaring prices could put it under pressure to raise them.