Inflation Climbs to 6.6% Year-on-Year, Driven by Transport Costs and Communication Services

Year-on-Year Analysis 

The All Items Index increased 6.6% for the twelve months ending August 2023; a larger increase than the 5.0% increase for the tewlve months ending  in July 2023.

The index for Transport was the largest contributor the All Items increase, accounting for 26.0% of the increase.

Also contributing to the  August annual increase was the advancement in the Communication index which rose for thirty-two consecutive month. 

The index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased 3.8% with the Food Index increasing 3.6% over the last twelve months.

Price changes in  the nine food indexes were split with six increase and three decreases.

The index for Bread and Cereals rose by 9.1% and accounted for almost 40% of  the food increase.

The subcategory index of Other Cereals, Flour and Other Products increased 13.7% over the year.

The index for Milk, Cheese and  Egg accounted for the second largest contribution of 22.8%. The index advanced 10.4% over the twelve period.The index for Vegetables decrease  1.3% in August after increasing 9.5% in July.

The decline was attributed to 11.7% decline in the index for Fresh or Chilled Potatoes. Another notable  decrease was the index for Meats and Meat Product which also declined by 1.3%. 

The index for All Items Less Food and Energy index rose 8.6% over the past twelve months. The index for Transport Services rose 34.2%. Influencing  the increase was index for Passenger Transport by Air which rose 39.5%.

Other indexes with notable increases over the last year include Restaurants  and Hotels (+30.8%),Communication (+13.1%),Clothing and Footwear (+8.0%), Miscellaneous Goods and Services (5.5%) and Furnishing  Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (5.3%). 

Month-to-Month Price Changes 

The Monthly Consumer Price Index rose 1.4% in August 2023 after increasing 0.8% in the previous month. 

The index for Food declined 1.6% in August. Seven of nine food groups posted decreases over the one month period. The index for Vegetables  declined 5.3% in August as all three subcategories declined.

The index for Frozen, Preserved or Processed Vegetables declined 6.6%, while the index  for Fresh or Chilled Potatoes fell 5.4%. Also declining was the index for Fresh or Chilled Vegetables (-3.3%).

Other notable food groups decreases  include Fruit (-3.7%), Sugars, Jam, Honey, Chocolate and Confectionery (-1.3%) and Meat and Meat Products (-1.2%). In contrast, the index for Food  Products N.E.C rose 2.2% and the index for Bread and Cereals increased 1.0%  

The index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 2.4% in August after rising 0.9% in July. The index was largely driven by a 28.6% increase in the  index for Transport Services.

The index for Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics rose 0.9% after declining 2.2% the previous month.

The  indexes for Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels declined 0.2%, while both the indexes for Miscellaneous Goods and Services and  Furnishings, Household equipment and Routine Maintenance both declined 0.1% over the period. The remaining indexes remained unchanged.

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