The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said the fall in petrol and diesel prices as pushed the UK inflation rate to a low of 1.7% in February.

The 1.7% level is a four year low and it is the second consecutive month that the ONS’ Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rate has been below the target of 2% set by the Bank of England.

CPI measures changes in the price level of a market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households.

Petrol prices fell by 0.8p per litre on average between January and February, compared with a rise of 4p over the same period in 2013.

Diesel prices also fell by 0.8p per litre on average between January and February compared with a 3.7p increase over the same period in 2013.

The Retail Prices Index (RPI) fell to 2.7% from 2.8% in January. The RPI is a long-standing measure of UK inflation that has historically been used for a wide range of purposes such as the indexation of pensions and rents.