The Office for National Statistics said that the consumer prices index jumped to 1.8 per cent in January, up from 1.6 per cent in December

The prices paid by manufacturers for imported raw materials and fuel rose at the fastest rate in more than eight years in January as the weaker pound and higher cost of oil began to have a significant impact.

The Office for National Statistics said that input prices for manufacturers rose 20.5 per cent in the year to January, marking the highest increase since September 2008.

The rise was largely the result of the 13 per cent fall in the value of sterling since the Brexit vote and an 82 per cent year-on-year rise in the cost of crude oil.

Factories are beginning to pass these higher costs on to customers. Prices charged at the factory gate for manufactured goods rose by 3.5 per cent in