The Central Statistical Office is pleased to announce the release of the Index of Retail Prices for the month of January 2022.
Index of Retail Prices
The All Items Index of Retail Prices calculated from the prices collected for the month of January 2022 was 114.1, representing an increase of 0.8 point or 0.7% above the All Items Index for December 2021 as shown in the table attached.
The Index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased from 127.0 in December 2021 to 128.1 in January 2022, reflecting an increase of 0.9%. Contributing significantly to this increase was the general upward movement in the prices of carite – fresh; powdered milk – full cream; parboiled rice; white flour; king fish – fresh; carrots; eddoes; snacks (corn curls, cheese balls, tortilla chips etc.); other chilled or frozen chicken (parts); and cucumber. The full impact of these price decreases was offset by the general decreases in the prices of tomatoes; pumpkin; chive; other fruit drinks (not orange); fresh beef; steak – fresh beef; carbonated soft drinks; potatoes; apples; and salted pig tail.
A further review of the data for January 2022 compared with December 2021 reflected increases in the sub-indices for Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco of 2.0%, Clothing and Footwear of 0.3%, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels of 1.3%, Furnishings, Household Equipment & Routine Maintenance of the House of 0.7%, Health of 1.1%, Transport of 0.5%, Communication of 2.5%, Hotels, Cafés and Restaurant of 1.0%, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services of 0.7%. However, decreases were noted in the sub-indices for Recreation and Culture of 2.7%. All other sections remained unchanged.
Inflation Rate
The Inflation Rate for January 2022 (measured as the percentage change in the average All Items Index for the period January 2022/January 2021) was 3.8%. This represents an increase from 2.0% which was recorded in the previous period (January to December 2021/January to December 2020). The Inflation Rate for the comparative period (January 2021/January 2020) was 0.9%.
Director of Statistics
Central Statistical Office
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