Price index jumps 1.1% in March

The index of consumer prices rose by 1.1 per cent last month the National Statistics Office said.

It said there was an increase of 6.1 percent in the Clothing and Footwear Index, due to price increases in garments and a 3.3 percent increase in restaurant and hotel prices brought about by seasonal price increases in accommodation services.

The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index went up by 0.9 percent, mainly on account of price increases in fish, vegetables, bread and cereals. An increase of 0.6 percent was recorded in the Recreation and Culture Index due to price increases in package tours. A rise in the price of visual aid apparatus was the main factor underlying an upward movement of 0.3 per cent in theHealth Index. There was also a slight increase in the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Index.

Lower air fares caused the Transport Index to decrease by 0.2 per cent.

The Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index dropped by 0.1 per cent, mainly on account of lower prices of personal care products.

In March, the 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 1.5 per cent, whereas the annual rate stood at 4.3 per cent.

Comments

A Daley (4 weeks, 1 day ago)

Any predictions of what the next budget is going to be like? Is the deficit and our ever increasing sum of £m1.5billion in National debt going to be, less/ the same/ or higher? Then again, one can always read the last budget to get some idea, but does anyone remember what was said?

Joseph Grech-Attard (4 weeks, 1 day ago)

Do we reallly have a sound economy and is the future nice or bleak,? Can we at least sustain our standard of living and poverty status for quite some time?

William Gatt (4 weeks, 1 day ago)

Malta, being a small island state, depends on trade for the majority of products. Thus the measures for inflation do not neccessarily reflect domestic economic changes. When applying for the Euro, Malta had to defend its case since a substancial part of the inflation is described as 'Imported Inflation', i.e higher prices of imported products. More than the current rate of price increases, emphasis is placed on other measures of stability, such as the deficit and public debt.

Mario Genovese (4 weeks, 1 day ago)

Did it cross your mind that Brussels were at some point going to let Gonzi down on the eve of the election?

Silke Buhagiar (4 weeks, 1 day ago)

How did we manage to qualify for the euro?