The annual rate of inflation in the UK edged higher in February, back to the government's target level, driven by the price of books and computer games, official figures showed today. The office for National Statistics revealed that the consumer price index rose by an annual rate of 2.0 pct in February, above expectations of a 1.9 pct increase. The annual rate was at 1.9 pct both in December and January. This it the first time the annual rate has risen between January and February since September 2005. NS said the pick up in the annual rate was driven by higher prices in recreation and culture -- with the prices for computer games up from levels seen in the same month last year, along with prices for newspapers, books and stationery. There were also upward effects from furniture, household equipment and maintenance, and carpets. These gains offset falls elsewhere. Notably, transport costs fell for the second month in a row while the price of petrol rose by a smaller margin than a year ago. The average recorded price for a litre of petrol rose by 0.4p in February, to stand at 89.2p. In February last year, the average price rose by 0.6p to 79.8p. On a month-on-month basis, the CPI rate was up 0.3 pct in February, steeper than the 0.2 pct increase predicted. Today's data suggests that the Bank of England's will have to remain wary about the outlook for prices, even if petrol costs do not rise from currently elevated prices. Throughout most of 2005, the rises in the CPI annual rate were largely driven by oil prices. The Monetary Policy Committee is charged with targeting an annual CPI rate of 2.0 pct over a two-year horizon. As things stand, some economists believe subdued economic growth and a sustained decline in energy costs may help dampen inflationary pressures and pave the way for at least one more rate reduction. A growing number of observers, however, believe interest rates will stay put as economic growth may well pick up along with a recovering housing market and modest gains in consumer spending. The BoE last cut its benchmark repo rate in August by a quarter point to 4.50 pct. Meanwhile, the core CPI annual rate, which excludes energy, food, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, rose to 1.4 pct in February from 1.3 pct over the previous two months. Analysts had expected the core rate to stay unchanged at 1.3 pct. On a month-on-month basis, the core CPI rate was up 0.3 pct from January. Elsewhere, the wider RPI measure of inflation, which is used in pensions payments, rose by 2.3 pct -- the same as in the previous month but lower than expectations of a 2.4 pct increase. On a month-on-month basis, RPI rose 0.4 pct from the previous month, in line with predictions.