Inflation hits food, utilities and fuel

The new car registration tax contributed to lower car prices last month but it barely made up for the dramatic increases in food and utilities, according to official data published yesterday.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices for last month showed that inflation stood at 3.5 per cent when compared to the same month last year. Last January, the annual rate of inflation stood at 3.1 per cent. The National Statistics Office said the transport sector registered a year-on-year decrease of 3.5 per cent, brought about by lower prices of motor cars.

However, food was much more expensive to purchase last month than a year ago. The food and non-alcoholic beverages index registered an increase of 10.4 per cent.

The highest price increases were registered in the housing and utilities sector, which jumped by 16 per cent.

The educational sector also saw substantially higher prices, registering an upward movement of 8.7 per cent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the 12-month moving average rate of inflation (the average inflation rate over a full year period from February 2008 to February this year) stood at 4.6 per cent.

This is the same rate of inflation as last January and 0.1 per cent less than the record December inflation.