Food was four per cent more expensive in July than it was a year ago, according to the National Statistics Office.

Figures released yesterday showed that although the price of fruit fell by 0.47 per cent last month, which brought the food index down slightly, the overall price of food was still higher than in July 2011.

There was some consolation for consumers, however: The Retail Price Index for July fell by 0.65 per cent over June, primarily because of a drop of nearly 11 per cent in the clothing and footwear index due to lower prices of garments.

A reduction in gas prices from June to July caused the water, electricity, gas and fuels index to decline by 0.62 per cent.

In July, the 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 2.36 per cent whereas the annual rate stood at 2.11 per cent.