Inflation at 0.7 per cent

The 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 0.7 per cent last month, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices increased to 104.72 last month from 103.96 in June.

This primarily reflected a rise of 3.6 per cent in the Restaurants and Hotels Index due to higher prices in accommodation services.

The Transport Index went up by 1.5 per cent, mainly as a result of higher prices in airfares.

Higher prices of fruit, vegetables and cereals caused the Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages Index to go up by 1.3 per cent. The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index increased by 0.8 per cent. This was mainly brought about by an increase in the cost of materials and services in connection with the maintenance and repair of dwellings.

The Furniture, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House Index was pushed up by 0.1 per cent, mainly due to higher prices of household appliances.

The Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index registered an increase of 0.1 per cent because of higher prices of health insurance policies.

The Clothing and Footwear Index dropped by 8.7 per cent due to seasonal price reductions.