Higher takeaway prices have pushed food inflation up - NSO

The 12-month moving average inflation rate used as a universal measure in the Eurozone has increased for 12 months in a row in Malta but remains below the Eurozone target

Takeaway items have contributed to higher food prices
Takeaway items have contributed to higher food prices

Inflation in March continued to inch upwards for the seventh month in a row, standing at 1.38%, figures released by the National Statistics Office show.

The 12-month moving average inflation rate was 0.09 points higher than the previous month.

The 12-month average is the rate used across the Eurozone to compare inflation rates and is less volatile to sudden and seasonal price changes. It is the rate on which the annual cost of living adjustment is worked.

Malta’s rate is still well below the 2% benchmark for Eurozone countries but it has been increasing at a slow pace since August last year.

The annual inflation rate as measured by the retail price index, a different type of measurement, stood at 1.89% in March, a slight drop over February.

The NSO said the largest upward impact on annual inflation was recorded in the food index on the back of higher prices charged by takeaway outlets.