Inflation heat reduced but remains in double figures as food prices jump almost 20%  

• UK headline inflation falls to from 10.4% to 10.1% in February
• Core inflation, stripping out food and energy prices, stays at 6.2%
• Food and non-alcoholic beverages rise at fastest rate since 1977.
• Wall Street gains evaporated after Fed policymaker advocated more rate hikes
• Asian indices take a more downbeat cue from the US while European indices forecast to open lower amid inflation concerns.
• Brent crude dips lower to around $84 a barrel

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown:

‘’The heat has been turned down on the bubbling cauldron of prices, but inflation is still scalding and interest rates look set to be pushed up again to try and cool it down rapidly. Instead of retreating below double digits, CPI is staying stubbornly high, causing more pain for companies and consumers. The relentless rise in food and non-alcoholic beverages is vicious, soaring to 19.2% in the year to March, up from 18.2% in February. Food prices haven’t risen this quickly over a year since August 1977, when the Queen was celebrating the silver jubilee and a smaller one-pound note was introduced. The pound feels a lot smaller in our pockets right now as inflation continues to devour spending power, with wages rising so much more slowly. This insidious drain on wealth, and the worry that it’s not temporary given that core inflation, stripping out volatile energy and food prices, remains so sticky means it’s more likely that another interest rate rise of 0.25% is on the way from the Bank of England next month.