LONDON, March 25, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Britain's annual inflation rate was unchanged at 3.0 percent in February, official data showed Wednesday ahead of an expected jump as the Middle East war has sent oil prices surging.

Rising clothes prices last month were "offset by falls in petrol costs, with prices collected before the start of the conflict in the Middle East and subsequent rise in crude oil prices", noted Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the Office for National Statistics.