Consumer Price Index

25.MAY.07

APRIL 2007

The Consumer Price Index for the month of April 2007 registered a 1.2 percent increase over the previous month. The All Items Index was 115.05 in April, compared to 113.69 in March 2007. The Point-to-Point inflation was 5.0 percent.{{more}}

Three of the eleven groups in the basket of goods and services increased over the month of March, while the other eight remained unchanged. The groups which increased were “Food” (2.0 percent), Fuel & Light (2.6 percent), and “Household Furniture & Supplies” (0.1 percent).

The groups in which no change was registered were “Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco”, “Clothing & Footwear”, “Housing”, “Medical Care & Expenses”, “Transport & Communication”, “Education”, “Personal Services” and “Miscellaneous”.

The increase in price of several food items contributed to the higher group index of “Food”. These items included bananas (22.2 percent), plantains (13.7 percent), limes (13.2 percent), powdered milk (10.8 percent), sweet potatoes (6.3 percent), and codfish (5.1 percent). The group “Household Furniture & Supplies” registered an increase as a result of the price increase for alkaline batteries (7.9 percent), toilet soap (1.1 percent), and dishwashing liquid (1.0 percent). Meanwhile, a higher fuel surcharge rate resulted in the increase in the group “Fuel & Light”.