The Bureau of Statistics reports Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation rose by 8.2 percent (year-on-year), 0.2 percentage points from 8.0 percent recorded in December. Food prices measured by the Food Sub-index held at roughly the same pace of increase in January as in December, while on the aggregate, upward pressure on the Headline index was largely as a result of increasing divisions that contribute to the Core Sub-index.
Food Prices
Food prices as measured by the Food sub-index rose by 9.2 percent in January, roughly unchanged from price increases recorded in December. Price increases are also marginally higher from the 12 month low recorded in November of 2014 at 9.1 percent.
On a month-on-month basis, food prices increased by 0.9 percent in January, increasing at the same pace for the second consecutive month. Price increases slowed for all groups yielding the Food sub-index except for Vegetables. On a month-on-month basis, the highest price increases were recorded in the Vegetables, Meat, “Potatoes, Yams and Other Tubers”; and “Bread and Cereal” groups. The average annual rate of change of the Food sub-index for the twelve-month period ending in January 2015 over the previous twelve month average was 9.5 percent. The twelve month rate of change has held steady for eight consecutive months.
All Items
The pace of increases in the “All items less Farm Produce” or Core index, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce picked up in January. Prices rose by 6.8 percent (year-on-year), up from 6.2 percent in December with the strongest increases recorded in the “Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels” divisions On a month-on-month basis, the Core Sub-index slowed marginally in January. Prices increased by increasing by 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent in December. The highest increases were recorded in the “Furniture and furnishings”; “Nondurable household goods”; Clothing materials, and “Shoes and other footwear” groups. The average 12 month annual rate of rise of the index was recorded at 6.9 percent for the twelve-month period ending in January 2015, unchanged from the 12 month rate recorded in December.
Source NBS
