Inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) slightly in January, up from 5.4% in December 2021 to 5.5%.

This set a record high 12-month inflation rate since records began in 1997 for the second time in a row and, extrapolating backwards from then, is the highest reading since March 1992, when inflation hit 7.1%.

Earlier this month, when the Bank of England (BoE) increased the base rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, it stated that it believes inflation will rise to “around” 7.25% by April this year.

The main drivers this month were increased prices in clothing and footwear, which went up by 0.14 percentage points between December 2021 and January this year.

Although inflation did go up, IX Prime managing director Jay Mawji says that the Office for National Statistics’ latest report “has been met with a wave of relief”.

He compares this “modest rise in headline inflation” against a backdrop of “fuel prices at an all-time high and the British economy lurching towards a spiral of soaring prices and slowing spending.”

Mawji continues: “The question now is whether it is a brief respite, or a sign that inflationary pressure is easing. So far the consensus is for the former, with the BoE predicting that CPI will hit 7% by spring.

“Compared to the US, where consumer prices rose by 7.5% in the 12 months to the end of January – America’s fastest rate of inflation for four decades – the UK has got off lightly.

“But the relief may not last long,” he warns, citing falling wages and the “growth-choking” effect of this inflation.