Slight rise in Retail Price Index recorded in August

The main upward impacts on annual inflation were recorded in the food index, the beverages and tobacco index and the household equipment and house maintenance cost index • The main downward impacts were mostly due to a reduction in the prices of fuel, garments and gas

Price of clothes fell by 0.25 points in August 2016
Price of clothes fell by 0.25 points in August 2016

The annual rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) rose to 0.82% in August 2016, from 0.69% registered in July 2016.

The monthly inflation rate registered in August 2016 was 0.18%, up from -0.34% registered in July 2016.

The main upward impacts on annual inflation were recorded in the food index (0.67 percentage points), the beverages and tobacco index (0.25 percentage points) and the household equipment and house maintenance cost index (0.13 percentage points).

This was mainly due to higher prices of fruit, cigarettes and furniture respectively.

The transport and communication index (0.48 percentage points), the clothing and footwear index (0.25 percentage points) and the water, electricity, gas and fuels index (0.01 percentage points) were the main downward impacts on annual inflation, mostly due to a reduction in the prices of fuel, garments and gas respectively.

The RPI measures in index form the monthly changes in the cost of purchasing a constant representative basket of consumer goods and services. It is used by both the private and public sectors for the adjustment of wages, salaries and rents.

The Index is compiled using a large and representative selection of more than 355 separate goods and services for which price movements are regularly monitored. Over 9,000 separate price quotations are used each month in compiling the Index.