Prices rose by 3 per cent last month – the same rate as the month before. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that – ironically – falling petrol costs were one of the main things keeping the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) from climbing. This data was, of course, collected before the latest conflict in the Middle East – and we can soon expect the numbers to start heading in the wrong direction.

Elsewhere, clothing costs were the largest upward driver of inflation, while food inflation remained broadly flat. In good news for drinkers, the cost of alcohol came down thanks to increased promotional activity in February.

In a different world, the government would be cautiously welcoming today’s figures. But in the one we live in, they are, unfortunately, already outdated.

Since they were recorded, America and Israel’s war against Iran has sent global........

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