The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices went down to 121.92 in July from 122.24 in June, the NSO said today.
It said the 0.3 per cent drop reflected a seasonal drop of 10.3 per cent in the Clothing and Footwear Index, due to lower prices of garments. Seasonally cheaper fruits were the main cause behind a decline of 0.8 per cent in the Food and Beverages Index.
The Communication Index registered a decrease of 0.4 per cent, mainly on account of lower-priced mobile phones. The Transport Index went down by 0.2 per cent, mainly due to a decrease in the price of fuels. A downward
movement in the prices of travel articles caused the Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index to edge down by 0.1 per cent.
The Restaurants and Hotels Index registered an increase of 1.7 per cent due to higher prices of accommodation services. Higher-priced package holidays caused an increase of 0.9 per cent in the Recreation and Culture Index. The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index increased by 0.7 per cent, mainly due to costlier services for the maintenance and repair of dwellings.
Inflation
In July the 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 2.8 per cent (2.7 in June), whereas the annual rate of inflation stood at 4.2 per cent (from 4.4 per cent in June).