Rishi Sunak has been given a Valentine’s Day gift as inflation unexpectedly held steady last month.

The consumer prices index (CPI) - which measures the costs that households face - was unchanged at 4pc in January.

Economists had expected prices to rise by 4.1pc compared to the same month last year.

The drop eases pressure on the Bank of England to keep interest rates higher for longer to bring inflation back down to its 2pc target.

A fall in interest rates, which currently stand at 5.25pc, would ease restrictions on household spending, delivering a boost for the economy. It would also lower government borrowing costs, providing the Chancellor with more headroom for spending in an election year. 

Economists are already predicting that inflation will fall to 3.4pc in February.

On Tuesday, figures from the US showed that inflation slowed to 3.1pc from 3.4pc earlier, but the slowdown was less than the drop to 2.9pc that had been expected.

Read the latest updates below.