Inflation edges up in September on the back of increasing food prices

Inflation edged upwards in September to 4.1% from 4% a month earlier, with food prices registering the highest annual increase, the National Statistics Office said on Tuesday.

The Retail Price Index (RPI) showed that food prices increased by 8.8%. Food excluding restaurant services and take-aways registered an annual rate of 9.5% while restaurant services and take-aways registered an annual rate of 6.7%.

The second highest annual increase was registered in housing (8.1%).

The lowest annual inflation rates were registered in transport and communication (-2.1%), and water, electricity, gas and fuels that registered no movement.

Government continues to subsidise utility bills, fuels and gas thus keeping prices stable.

The NSO said the largest upward impact on annual inflation in September was registered in the Food Index (+1.89 percentage points), largely due to higher prices of take-aways. The second and third largest impacts were measured in the Housing Index (+0.64 points) and the Other Goods and Services Index (+0.48 points), mainly on account of higher prices of house maintenance services and insurances, respectively.

A downward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Transport and Communication Index (-0.45 points), mainly reflecting lower prices of land transport services.