Inflation in reverse gear in May
View(s):Inflation, as measured by the change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) and compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), decelerated (purely for technical reasons) to 7.1 per cent in May 2017 from 8.4 per cent in April 2017, on a year-on-year basis, the Central Bank said in a media release this week.
It said the deceleration was mainly due to the base effect amid a monthly increase in the NCPI. Both Food and Non-food categories contributed towards the year-on-year inflation last month.
The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis increased to 6.1 per cent in May from 6.0 per cent in April.
“When the monthly change is considered, the NCPI increased from 121 index points in April to 121.8 index points in May. This monthly increase was mainly due to the increase in prices of the items in the Food category,” the release said.
Within the Food category, prices of vegetables, red onions, fresh fish, rice and coconuts increased during the month. In the Non-food category, prices of items in Clothing and Footwear; Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (Materials for Maintenance); Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance; Transport (Tyres, tubes, spare parts and lubricating oil); and Miscellaneous Goods and Services sub-categories increased. Prices in Health; Education and Restaurants and Hotels sub-categories also recorded marginal increases, it said.
Prices of certain items within the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco sub-category decreased during May while prices in Communication, and Recreation and Culture sub-categories remained unchanged during the month.
The NCPI Core inflation, which reflects the underlying inflation in the economy decreased significantly to 4.7 per cent in May from 5.9 per cent in April on a year-on-year basis, owing to a relatively low monthly increase and the base effect. Annual average NCPI Core inflation also declined from 6.6 per cent in Apri to 6.4 per cent in May.