Economists predict UK inflation will reach 4.2%

UK annual inflation is set to hit 4.2% for February, more than double the Bank of England's target, forecast economists in an IFS report.

Official figures are due later this morning but economists say this figure, up from 4% in January, will be he fastest jump in CPI inflation in more than two years, the Telegraph reports. The report by the IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) reveals the real income, or amount taken home after inflation, will have dropped 1.6% over three years to the end of 2011. IFS says this significant decline marks a £360 loss per year, which represents the first drop over any three-year period since the early 1990s. With inflation soaring and well above the Bank of England's target, the central b...