Inflation climbs to 1.8pc in April

The late timing of the Easter holidays pushed up the cost of travel by around 20pc, the ONS said, while petrol prices were unchanged between March and April, compared with a fall of 2.1 pence last year. This was partly offset by a 0.5pc fall in food prices as a mild spring kept vegetable prices down compared to last year when widespread frost killed many crops.

"Inflation should stay between 1.5pc and 2pc this year, as higher sterling and commodity prices bear down on import costs, and a tightening economy should then push inflation back up to the 2pc inflation target by the end of 2015," said Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Berenberg Bank.

Core inflation, which strips out energy and food price rises, jumped to 2pc in April, from 1.6pc in March, representing the fastest increase since September 2013. However, experts said the jump largely reflected April's higher airfares.

Meanwhile, the retail prices index (RPI) measure of inflation, which is no longer classed as an official statistic by the ONS, but is still used to calculate pay deals and fare increases, held steady at 2.5pc last month.

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