An overall 1.8% increase in prices in April was primarily influenced by price hikes in the transport and communication, housing and food sectors, according to the Bureau of Statistics.
April recorded a 1.8% increase in the consumer items monitored in the Urban (Georgetown) Consumer Price Index basket of goods and services, a release from the Bureau stated.
The price index value accordingly moved from 178.5 in March to 181.7 in April, causing the year-to-date inflation rate from December 2002 to April 2003 to be measured at 3.5%. On an annual basis, comparing April last year to April this year, the Urban (Georgetown) index rose by 7.1%.
“The overall increase in prices of 1.8% in April was primarily influenced by respective increases in prices in the sub-sections of transport and communication (4.5%), housing (3.8%), and food (0.6%),” the Bureau informed.
The increase of 4.5% in the transport and communication group resulted from the increased costs of operations of personal transport (parts & accessories) which rose by 0.6%, personal transport equipment by 0.3% and purchased transport services (air fare, taxi fare and mini-bus fare) by 14.2%.
The increases in the housing group of 3.8%, the release said, were due to rising costs in the sub-categories of fuel and power (electricity) and rent and maintenance by 7.2% and 1.7% respectively.
Meanwhile, the overall increase of 0.6% in prices in the food group was primarily attributed to the price increase in the sub-categories vegetables and vegetable products by 3.4%, fruits and fruit products by 3.2%, oils and fats by 1.8%, condiments and spices and tobacco and tobacco products, each by 0.6%, and alcoholic beverages by 0.4%, among others.
However, the Bureau noted that declines in the sub-categories pulses and pulse products by 1.8%, meat, fish and eggs by 0.7%, milk and milk products by 0.1% and non-alcoholic beverages by 0.6% did not reverse the overall upward price trend in the food group.