The Retail Price Index went down by 0.43 percent, last month, reflecting primarily a drop of 1.41 percent in the food index.

The National Statistics Office said this was mainly on account of lower vegetable prices

A decrease of 0.48 percent was also registered in the transport and communicationindex, mainly due to lower air fares. The housing index went down by 0.09 percent, mainly on account of lower rental fees. Lower prices of alcoholic beverages caused the beverages andtobacco index to go down by 0.06 percent.

Higher prices of furniture underlay an increase of 0.29 percent in the household equipment and house maintenance cost index. The clothing and footwear index went up by 0.26 percent, mainly due to seasonal price rises of garments.

Price increases in some jewellery items caused the other goods and services index to go up by 0.18 percent.

The recreation and culture index registered an increase of 0.05 percent, mainly on account of higher prices of stationery goods.

The 12-month moving average rate of inflation to June stood at 4.23 percent, whereas the annual rate stood at 2.74 percent, down for the first time since September 2007.