Retail price index jumps

The retail price index jumped 1% in August compared to the previous month, the NSO said this morning.

It said the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices went up to 115.41 from 114.29 in July.

This primarily reflected an increase of 5.4 per cent in the Restaurants and Hotels Index, due to costlier accommodation services.

An upward movement in the price of fish caused the Food and Non-alcoholic beverages Index to go up by 1.6 per cent.

The Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index registered a rise of 1.5 per cent due to higher fees for child-minding services.

Higher prices for household textiles and non-durable household goods resulted in a growth of 0.4 per cent in the Furniture, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House Index. A similar rise was recorded in the Transport Index due to an increase in airfares. The Recreation and Culture Index went up by 0.3 per cent, mainly on account of higher-priced package holidays.

Higher fees for private tuition caused a 0.2 per cent increase in the Education Index.

The Clothing and Footwear Index went down by 9.4 per cent due to a seasonal decrease in the price of garments.

Lower prices for gas caused the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index to go down by 0.2 per cent. A similar drop was recorded in the Alcoholic beverages and Tobacco Index due to a decline in the prices of spirits.

In August, the 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 1.0 per cent, whereas the annual rate of inflation stood at 3.0 per cent.