The cost-of-living-adjustment for next year is expected to amount to €2.33 a week.

To this, employers will add another weekly increase of €1 as the second instalment of the national minimum wage agreement signed in April last year. This means the weekly wage is expected to rise by a total of €3.33, or a yearly increase of €173.16.

The sum is 58c more than last year and is the result of the higher inflation rate reflected in higher prices that consumers had to pay for several products and services over the previous year.

The increase is worked out in line with a formula within the retail price index mechanism that measures the price fluctuations of a number of products and services throughout the year.

This figure is not necessarily the one that will be announced in next week’s Budget speech because the final decision lies with the Finance Ministry.

The additional €1 will not apply in cases of collective agreements where the adjustment is part of the overall agreed wage increase.

58c more than last year

Retail prices rose at a marginally higher rate last month when compared to the previous month, data shows.

The retail price index, which measures monthly price changes in a basket of consumer goods and services, rose by 1.64 per cent in September when compared to the 1.12 per cent rise in August. Over 12 months, the RPI moving average rate was 1.08 per cent.

The RPI only captures private households, which distinguishes it from the harmonised index of consumer prices, which also encompasses retirement homes and foreign visitors to Malta.

The greatest upward impact on annual inflation came in the food index (0.94 percentage points), mainly due to the higher prices of take-aways.

The clothing and footwear index registered the largest downward impact (0.11 percentage points), mainly reflecting the lower prices for garments, the National Statistics Office said.

So far, this year the food index has registered an annual inflation rate of 4.37 per cent.