Consumer Price Index

JULY 2006

During the review period, the Consumer Price Index registered a 0.8 percent growth over the month of June, 2006. The “All Items” index stood at 112.1 compared with 111.2 for the previous month. The “point-to-point” inflation rate was recorded at 2.8 percent. Three (3) of the eleven (11) groups recorded increases during the month, namely, “Food”, “Household Furniture & Supplies” and “Personal Services”. {{more}} The group “Fuel & Light” was the sole group to witness a decrease. The remaining groups which include “Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco”, “Clothing & Footwear”, “Housing”, “Medical Care & Expenses”, “Transport & Communication”, “Education” and “Miscellaneous” remained unchanged. The “Food” index rose by 1.6 percent. This was due to increased prices for the following items; breadfruit (50.0 percent), cabbages (23.2 percent), fish (21.4 percent), pumpkins (20.9 percent), cucumber (17.6 percent), carrots (17.5 percent) and tomatoes (14.0 percent). “Household Furniture & Supplies” and “Personal Services” indices grew by 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent respectively. Higher prices for bleach (8.7 percent) contributed to the increase in the former, while sanitary napkins (2.2 percent) and deodorant (3.9 percent) were responsible for the increase in the latter. The group “Fuel & Light” declined by 2.1 percent due to a lower fuel surcharge for the month of July, 2006.