The Central Statistical Office is pleased to announce the release of the Index of Retail Prices for the month of August 2022.
Index of Retail Prices
The All Items Index of Retail Prices calculated from the prices collected for the month of August 2022 was 118.6, representing an increase of 0.6 points or 0.5% above the index (All Items) for July 2022 as shown in the table attached.
The Index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased from 135.8 in July 2022 to 139.2 in August 2022, reflecting an increase of 2.5%. Contributing significantly to this increase was the general upward movement in the prices of whole chickens (fresh); tomatoes; white flour; ochroes; cheddar cheese; chive; pumpkin; cabbage; Irish potatoes and green pigeon peas. However, the full impact of these price increases was offset by the general decreases in the prices of bodi; cucumber; whole chickens- frozen; carite – fresh; salmon- fresh; powdered milk- full cream; eddoes; garlic; other edible oil; and other fresh goat (any cut).
A further review of the data for August 2022 compared with July 2022 reflected a decrease in the sub-index for Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco of 0.1%; Clothing and Footwear of 0.2%. An increase was noted in Health of 0.5 % whilst all other sections remained unchanged.
Inflation Rate
The Inflation Rate for August 2022 (measured as the percentage change in the average All Items Index for the period January to August 2022/January to August 2021) was 4.9%. This represents an increase from 4.7% which was recorded in the previous period (January to July 2022/January to July 2021). The Inflation Rate for the comparative period (January to August 2021/January to August 2020) was 1.4%.
