Retail Price Index drops

The Retail Price Index decreased to 118.97 last month from 119.34 in October, the National Statistics Office said.

The NSO said that this primarily reflected a drop of 1.86 per cent in the Transport and Communications Index, mainly due to a decrease in air fares.

The Food Index registered a drop of 0.85 per cent, mainly on account of vegetables. Other decreases were registered in the Housing Index and the Household Equipment and House Maintenance Cost Index.

Seasonal price increases of garments caused the Clothing and Footwear Index to increase by 2.73 percent. A rise in the price of tobacco underlay an increase of 1.75 percent in the Beverages and Tobacco Index.

The Other Goods and Services Index went up by 0.23 percent mainly due to increases in the price of pet food and nondurable household goods.

A rise of 0.08 was recorded in The Recreation and Culture Index due to higher prices of books and newspapers.

Upward shifts in the prices of hairdressing and grooming services caused an increase of 0.06 per cent in the Personal Care and Health Index.

The 12-month moving average rate of inflation in November stood at 4.12 per cent, whereas the annual rate stood at 4.82 percent.