The Retail Price Index edged up to 108.38 from 108.34 in November, the National Statistics Office said this morning.

It said this primarily reflected an increase of 2.20 per cent in the clothing and footwear index, mainly due to seasonally higher priced garments.

Costlier gas prices brought about an increase of 0.47 per cent in the water, electricity, gas and fuels index.

A rise of 0.42 per cent was recorded in the beverages and tobacco index, mainly due to an upward movement in the price of cigarettes.

The food index went up by 0.27 per cent, on account of higher prices of vegetables.

The transport and communication index declined by 1.06 per cent on account of cheaper communication services. Lower prices of computers caused the recreation and culture index to decrease by 0.11 per cent.

In December, the twelve-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 2.42 per cent, whereas the annual rate was 2.79 per cent.