Inflation reached a two-and-a-half-year high in January as rising fuel prices bumped up the cost of living.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure of inflation hit 1.8% last month, up from 1.6% in December, marking its highest level since June 2014.
However, the move came in shy of the Bank of England's 2% target and economists' expectations of 1.9%.
Separate figures for the Producer Price Index (PPI) showed that input prices - the amount paid for materials and fuel by UK manufacturers - saw its highest rate of growth since September 2008, rising 20.5% in January.
Sterling's slump against the US dollar and the euro since the EU referendum result, coupled with rising oil prices, also caused import prices to leap 20.2% over the period, the ONS said.
Ballooning import prices triggered by the Brexit-hit pound are expected to push up everyday prices as companies pass on their soaring costs to consumers.
ONS head of inflation Mike Prestwood said "The latest rise in CPI was mainly due to rising petrol and diesel prices, along with a significant slowdown in the fall in food prices.
"The costs of raw materials and goods leaving factories both rose significantly, mainly thanks to higher oil prices and the weakened pound."
The main driver behind the jump in CPI came from transport prices, which dropped by less than they did a year ago, falling by 0.6% between December and January, compared with 2.5% a year before.
Fuel prices climbed 3.4% over the period after dropping by 2.6% a year earlier, as the resurgent cost of Brent crude fed its way through to prices at the pumps.
The price of petrol rose to 118.6p per litre in January, up from 114.6p per litre the month before, while diesel reached 121.9p per litre last month, up from 118p per litre in December.
Overall food prices were flat between December and January after falling 0.6% a year ago, as the sharp drop in grocery costs - triggered by the supermarket price war - ground to a halt.
The ONS said a rise in the cost of imported foods caused by the Brexit-hit pound may have been a factor in the significant slowdown in the fall of food prices.
"Following a sustained period of deflation of food prices since mid-2014, during which the 12-month rate was often lower than negative 3%, the rate has increased for four consecutive months, reaching negative 0.4% in January," the ONS added.
"This is the highest it's been since June 2014."
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