Britain’s inflation rate unexpectedly rose last month, reversing its recent downward trend and potentially undermining expectations that the Bank of England was close to halting interest rate increases.Consumer prices in Britain rose 10.4 percent in February compared with a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. The rate had slowed for three consecutive months, to 10.1 percent in January after it peaked in October at 11.1 percent, the highest in more than four decades. The Bank of England’s rate-setters are scheduled to announce their next policy decision on Thursday.Prices rose 1 percent in February over the prior month, the biggest monthly jump since October. Higher prices in restaurants and hotels were the largest contributing factor, as alcohol prices were raised in pubs after discounts in January, according to …
