--UK Feb RPIX up 0.5% on mo; up 1.9% on yr
--UK Feb RPI up 0.5% on mo; up 2.7% on yr
--UK Feb RPIY up 0.6% on mo; up 1.6% on yr
--UK Feb service sector inflation up 3.0% on yr; goods up 0.4%
--UK Feb HICP up 0.8% on year
--ONS: No effect on UK Feb RPI from foot/mouth
--ONS: Main up effects on UK Feb RPI motoring, leisure goods
--ONS: Main dn effects on UK Feb RPI from mortgages, clothing

London, March 20 (BridgeNews) - U.K. underlying inflation crept a little higher in February but remained comfortably below the Bank of England's 2.5% target, according to figures released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics. RPIX, which excludes mortgage interest payments, rose 0.5% on the month and 1.9% on the year, up from an annual rate of 1.8% in January and just above expectations for the same this month. The main upward effects were from higher petrol costs and goods prices.
* * * The headline rate of RPI inflation rose 0.5% on the month and 2.7% on the year, the same annual rate as in January. RPIY, which excludes mortgage interest and indirect taxes, also rose 0.5% on the month and 1.6% on the year.
The EU harmonized measure dropped to an annual rate of 0.8% from 0.9% in January.
The ONS said it was too early to see any potential effect of foot and mouth disease in food prices in February because the figures were collected before the outbreak took hold.
Motoring costs, mainly more expensive petrol, added 0.05 percentage points to the annual rate of RPI, leisure goods added 0.03 percentage points, personal goods and services and household goods both added 0.02 percentage points, and food 0.01 percentage points.
In the opposite direction, housing costs cut 0.10 percentage points off the annual rate, and cheaper clothing and footwear cut 0.03 percentage points. The housing costs effect was entirely down to cheaper mortgages, which more than offset higher house prices.
Service sector inflation as a whole measured 3.0% in February, compared with 2.9% in January. Goods prices rose 0.4%, compared with 0.3% in January.
The figures were a little higher than forecast but still almost entirely unthreatening.
The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee meets in a fortnight's time for its monthly meeting. Economists are split on the most likely outcome, with some predicting a 25-basis point cut and others still expecting the committee to hold off for a little longer before easing policy again.