Inflation climbed to its highest level in three-and-a-half-years over April as the weak pound and Easter break took their toll.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed that inflation rose to 2.7 per cent last month hitting its highest level since 2013, higher than the Bank of England‘s two per cent target.
The Retail Price Index (RPI), a separate measure to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which includes council tax and mortgage payments hit 3.5 per cent increase, up from 3.1 per cent in March.
READ MORE: April‘s footfall remained “largely positive” despite inflation
The fashion sector suffered most seeing the highest rise in prices for six years. The price of clothes rose 1.1 per cent between March and April, compared to a 0.4 per cent decline a year prior.
The ONS states this could be due to the fall in fashion retailers offering sales items throughout the month.
Food prices also shot up over the month, seeing a 0.2 per cent month-on-month rise.
In its inflation report on Thursday, the Bank of England predicted that the CPI would hit three per cent by the end of the year.
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