Consumer price inflation more than doubled in April to stand at 1.5%, up from 0.7% in March, official figures showed on Wednesday.
A jump in regulated electricity and gas bills and higher clothing prices helped to push inflation up.
Core inflation, which excludes energy prices and other volatile items, rose by 1.3% in the 12 months to April, the Office for National Statistics said.
ONS chief economist, Grant Fitzner, said of the current picture: “Inflation rose in April, mainly due to prices rising this year compared with the falls seen at the start of the pandemic this time last year.
“This was seen most clearly in household utility bills and clothing prices.
