BRC welcomes decision
The interest rate is to remain unchanged at 5.25 per cent, the Bank of England has revealed.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has welcomed the news. BRC director-general Kevin Hawkins said: 'This is the right decision. We have yet to see anything like the full effects of the November and January increases.

'The small amount of inflationary pressure coming from the high street has been confined to food and driven by short-term increases in world commodity prices. As we expected, these are now beginning to recede. The BRC's Shop Price Index shows food prices falling and overall high-street inflation continuing to slow. The Bank should leave well alone and allow inflation to continue to fall of its own accord.'

UK inflation slid to 2.7 per cent last month, down from an 11-year high of 3 per cent, but it is still well over the target rate of 2 per cent.