Price index jumps in April

The index of consumer prices jumped to 112.40 in April from 109.60 in March, the NSO said today.

It said this primarily reflected an increase of 11.0 per cent in the Restaurants and Hotels index, mainly due to a seasonal increase in the price for accommodation services. A seasonal price rise in garments caused the Clothing and Footwear Index to go up by 3.9 per cent.

The Recreation and Culture Index went up by 3.1 per cent, mainly on account of higher priced package holidays. An increase in the price of fuels caused the Transport Index to go up by 2.2 per cent.

The Education Index registered a growth of 0.08 per cent due to higher school fees. Costlier services relating to the maintenance and repair of dwellings caused a 0.3 per cent rise in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index.

The Health Index moved upwards by 0.2 per cent due to higher prices of pharmaceuticals.

An upward shift in the price of wines caused the Alcoholic beverages and Tobacco Index to increase by 0.1 per cent.

The Communications Index registered a drop of 0.3 per cent due to lower-priced telephone equipment and services. The Food and Non-alcoholic beverages Index moved downwards by 0.1 per cent on account of lower prices for fruit.

In April, the twelve-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 0.9 per cent (March = 1.2%), whereas the annual rate of inflation stood at 0.8 per cent (0.6%).