More than four-fifths of British people reported a rise in the cost of living last month, according to official data on Thursday that also suggested stormy weather had hurt consumer spending.

The Office for National Statistics said 81% of people surveyed between Feb. 16 and Feb. 27 reported their cost of living had increased over the last month, up from 76% in the previous two-week period.

Spending on credit and debit cards fell by five percentage points during the week to Feb. 24 to 93% of its pre-pandemic average of February 2020, likely reflecting the impact of Storm Eunice, which caused widespread damage and disruption to travel.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; editing by David Milliken)