Fears Britain might enter a deflationary spiral receded on Tuesday after inflation rose in defiance of expectations last month.

As the sharp fall in the value of the pound fed through in the form of higher prices for shoppers, the consumer price index increased from 3 per cent in January to 3.2 per cent in the year to February, confounding economists’ forecasts of a further fall to 2.6 per cent. Inflation has fallen from a peak of 5.2 per cent in September.