Clothing retailers offering discounts contributed to a surprise drop in shop price inflation in February.
Industry predictions had been for sharp increases in prices last month, but shop prices fell 0.7% over the year to February, unchanged from January, defying the forecasts.
The shop price inflation index, data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ, will be monitored by Bank of England officials ahead of their next interest rates meeting on March 20.
The Times reports non-food inflation fell 2.1% year-on-year in February, after a 1.8% fall a month earlier, as retailers offered discounts to attract shoppers.
Mike Watkins, head of retail and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: “With many household bills increasing over the next few weeks, shoppers will be looking carefully at their discretionary spend and this may help keep prices lower at non-food retailers."
Meanwhile, food inflation rose 2.1% in the year to February and the BRC has warned of inflation creeping up in recent months.
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