Inflation has hit its lowest level in almost 50 years but has not slipped into negative territory, surprise figures from the Government show, while the cost of food continues to climb.

Figures released today by the Office of National Statistics showed its retail price index, tracking changes in the cost of goods and services, held steady at 0% - its lowest since 1960 but ahead of earlier predictions.

The news comes after the RPI edged up in January by just 0.1% compared to the first month of 2008.

In a further surprise, the consumer price index, which strips out changes to property costs, charted its first rise in five months - from 3% to 3.2%.

The ONS said higher food prices, especially meat, vegetables and soft drinks, were partly responsible for the increase.

Despite the surprise news, Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned that threat of deflation continues to loom large. In a letter to the chancellor, he wrote: "Despite the increase in CPI inflation in February, we believe the sharp decline in CPI inflation since its peak in September is likely to resume in the coming months."

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, told the Daily Telegraph: "Despite the rise in February, we still expect annual consumer price inflation to fall back substantially over the coming months.

"This is expected to be the consequence of heightening pressure on retailers to price competitively as consumer spending increasingly wanes, companies' diminishing pricing power through the supply chain, sharply lower oil and commodity prices compared to 2008's peak levels, and favourable base effects as last year's sharp rises in utility prices increasingly drop out of the calculation."

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