The government this afternoon hailed a drop in the inflation rate and said it expected an even sharper drop once domestic power tariffs were reduced from March.

The government said the inflation rate in November, at 0.20%, was the lowest since January 2010. This was the fifth consecutive monthly drop and since the general election, inflation was always below one per cent.

This was in contrast to the situation under the previous government, when inflation exceeded 3% and sometimes 4%.

European figures also showed Malta having the sixth lowest inflation rate in the EU. The average inflation rate in the EU was 1.0%.

This downward trend in inflation meant stronger purchasing power for the people and an incentive for businesses and the economy in general, the government said.

The National Statistics Office said that in November, the annual rate of inflation stood at 0.20 per cent. A year earlier the annual rate was 3.05 per cent.

The largest upward impacts to the annual inflation were recorded in the Beverages and Tobacco Index (0.27 percentage points), the Recreation and Culture Index (0.20 percentage points) and the Personal Care and Health Index (0.19 percentage points) mainly due to price rises in cigarettes, books and newspapers, and hygienic articles respectively.

The biggest downward impact came from the Transport and Communication Index (-0.80 percentage points), mainly due to price reductions in communication services and equipment, motor vehicles and fuels.

The twelve-month moving average rate was 1.52 per cent