Annual March rate adds to pressure on household finances and follows warnings of slowdown to UK economy

• Business live – latest updates

UK inflation rose by 3.3% in March amid the surge in fuel prices for motorists triggered by the Iran war.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the consumer prices index increased last month from 3% in February, adding to pressure on household finances already battered by a cost of living crisis. The rise matched City economists’s forecast of an increase to 3.3%.