FOOD prices have risen at their third fastest monthly rate in a year amid hikes in the cost of butter, cheese, eggs and bread, new figures show.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Shop Price Index (SPI), food inflation hit 2.1 per cent in February, up from 1.6 per cent in January.

Prices of fresh food rose 1.5 per cent over the year — an increase from 0.9 per cent in January — while ambient food inflation, covering packaged and long-life goods, jumped from 2.5 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

Overall shop prices remained unchanged at 0.7 per cent lower than last February, while the price of non-food products fell to 2.1 per cent lower than a year ago.

The BRC has already said it expects food inflation to hit 4 per cent by the second half of the year amid geopolitical tensions and a £7 billion cost increase from the autumn budget.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “If government wants to keep inflation at bay, enable retailers to focus on growth and help households, it must mitigate the swathe of costs facing the industry.”