Inflation continues upward trend

A customer browses apples at a local store

The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) has revealed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI)  increased by 5.92 percent year-on-year as of July. Higher rental prices for housing and the rising cost of eating out contributed greatly to this increase.
Compared with July 2013, significant increases were recorded in the price indexes of housing & fuel (+11.45 percent); food & non-alcoholic beverages (+6.10 percent); and recreation & culture (+4.84 percent) on account of rising rental costs and higher prices for gas and fresh meat, as well as higher charges for eating out, package tours and recreational and sporting services.
On the other hand, the price index of clothing and footwear decreased by 0.52 percent.
The composite CPI for July increased by 0.37 percent month-to-month. According to DSEC, higher charges for package tours and rising rental costs pushed up the price index of recreation and culture, as well as housing and fuel, by 2.39 percent and 0.74 percent respectively.
The price index of the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector increased by 0.34 percent, due to the rising cost of eating out and higher prices for fresh pork, live chickens and vegetables.
For the 12 months ending in July, the average composite CPI registered an increase of 5.99 percent compared with the previous 12-month period. The average composite CPO for the first seven months of 2014 saw an increase of 6.11 percent year-on-year.