Transport costs up eight per cent in a year

Higher fuel prices pushed up transport costs by more than eight per cent in March when compared to the same month last year.

Inflation figures released by the National Statistics Office show that the cost of living last month rose by 2.8 per cent on a yearly basis with the transport index witnessing the heftiest increase at 8.2 per cent.

The food index went up by 4.5 per cent while that for housing, water, electricity and gas shot up by 3.7 per cent.

There were increases in other sectors but communications bucked the trend with a decline of eight per cent.

Comparing the cost of living in March with the previous month shows an increase of 1.5 per cent. Clothing and footwear contributed substantially to the increase, primarily because of seasonal stock changes.

The 12 month moving average rate of inflation – which calculates the average over a one year period – in March stood at 2.5 per cent.