A fall in the number of supermarket promotions saw the rate of inflation unexpectedly rise last month, official figures revealed today, piling more pressure on hard-pressed families.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate of inflation rose to 3.5% in March, from 3.4% in February, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, halting five months of declines.
Food and non-alcoholic drinks fell 0.5% on the month but this compared with a 1.4% fall last year when supermarkets and other retailers offered a wider range of sales and special offers.
Please enable cookies in your browser to display the rest of this article.