The Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached 2.9% in December, up from 1.9% in November, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In contrast, the price of clothing and footwear fell 3.5% over the 12 months, which had a downward pull of 0.2% on the CPI twelve month rate.

In the year to December, the Retail Price Index (RPI) rose to 2.4%, up from 0.3% in November.

In clothing and footwear, retail prices fell over the year but by less than a year ago. The main upward pull to the overall RPI rate came from women’s and men’s outwear and footwear.