The Retail Price Index went down to 104.11 in January, from 105.44 in December.

The National Statistics Office said this primarily reflected a drop of 17.45 per cent in the clothing and footwear index, mainly due to seasonally lower prices of garments.

Cheaper household appliances and textiles caused the household equipment and house maintenance cost index to decrease by 1.47 per cent.

Lower air fares underlay a decline of 0.98 per cent in the transport and communication index.

The housing index went down by 0.81 per cent, mainly on account of lower prices for construction works.

The recreation and culture index edged down by 0.28 per cent, mainly due to a reduction in subscription fees to physical fitness centres. A downward movement in the prices of personal appearance articles caused the Personal Health and Care Index to go down by 0.17 per cent.

The other goods and services index went up by 0.94 per cent, mainly due to higher prices of gold articles.

Higher prices of vegetables brought about an increase of 0.87 per cent in the food index.

An upward movement of 0.58 per cent was registered in the beverages and tobacco Index, mainly as a result of price rises for served beverages.

The water, electricity, gas and fuels index edged up by 0.05 per cent due to the increased price of gas.

The 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 2.65 per cent, whereas the annual rate stood at 1.87 per cent.