Consumer Price Index

Consumer price index for May

During the month of May, the Consumer Price Index increased by 1.0 percent. An inflation rate of 2.4 percent was also recorded during the period. The “All Items” index stood at 110.7 compared with 109.6 for the previous month.

Of the eleven (11) groups, six (6) witnessed price changes during the period, namely; “Food”, “Clothing & Footwear”, “Housing”, “Fuel & Light”, “Transport & Communication”, and “Personal Services”.{{more}} The remaining groups, “Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco”, “Household Furniture & Supplies”, “Medical Care & Expenses”, “Education”, and “Miscellaneous” were unaffected.

The “Food” index witnessed a 1.0 percent increase which was a result of higher prices for food items such as; evaporated milk (4.3 percent), cooking margarine (7.0 percent), turkey wings (6.5 percent), cabbages (8.4 percent), cucumber (18.7 percent), sugar – white (31.8 percent). The 0.1 percent increase in the “Clothing & Footwear” index resulted from a price increase for material – challis (0.4 percent). The “Fuel & Light” and “Transport & Communication” indices also recorded upward movements of 7.2 percent and 2.6 percent respectively. An increase in the price of kerosene oil (33.3 percent) was mainly responsible for the price change in the former while boat fare (33.3 percent) in the latter. The “Personal Services” index was the sole group to have recorded a decrease during the month (0.5 percent). Lower price for a bottle of deodorant (3.8 percent) mainly contributed to this decline.