The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of price inflation increased to 2.7% for the year to October, up from 2.2% the previous month.
This increase was explained by the Office for National Statistics as being driven by the rise in university tuition fees.
University tuition fees have increased after the government removed the cap on these fees, resulting in an average rise of 19.1%.
Other factors which contributed to the increase included higher prices for some fresh food, including grapes and bananas.
There was also a big rise in the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of price inflation, which increased from 2.6% to 3.2% in October.
This surprise rise in price inflation for October follows CPI falling to its lowest level in nearly three years the previous month.
Because university tuition fees appear to have been such a big contributor to the rise, it seems likely that inflation will fall sharply back towards the government target of 2% within the next few months.
Photo credit: Flickr/Lars Plougmann
