The Central Statistics Office (CSO) announced Friday that national year-on-year inflation rate went up slightly last month painting a scary picture into 2010 as the world prepares for FIFA World Cup that might spike food prices.
Data from the CSO stated that inflation rate stood at 5.8 percent, up by 0.8 of a percentage point from 5.0 percent in November 2009 with cities and towns’ inflation rate going up by 1.5 percentage points from 4.6 percent in November to 6.1 percent in December.
The jump is the first in three months as inflation has been declining with a positive outlook that allowed the authorities to cut rates to lowest in times.
The statement revealed that the urban villages’ inflation rate was 5.7 percent, up from the November rate of 5.1 percent while the rural villages’ inflation rate registered a decrease of 0.6 of a percentage point from 6.0 percent in November to 5.4 percent in December.
It added that the December national Consumer Price Index was 130.9, registering an increase of 0.1 percent on the November index of 130.8.
The cities and towns’ index moved from 128.9 to 129.3 between November and December, an increase of 0.3 percent.
It said the urban villages’ index was stable at 130.5 in December, the same figure recorded in November, while the rural villages’ index dropped from 135.9 in November to 135.5 in December, recording a decrease of 0.3 percent.
Two group indices recorded an increase of at least 0.5 percent between November and December ÔÇô Transport (0.8 percent) and Furnishing, Household Equipment & Maintenance (0.7 percent).
The Transport group index recorded an increase of 0.8 percent, from 118.6 to 119.6 between November and December.
“This was largely due to an increase in the constituent section index of Purchase of Vehicles which rose by 2.6 percent”, the CSO revealed.
The Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of Household index group moved from 129.0 to 129.9, registering an increase of 0.7 percent between November and December 2009.
The increase was due to the rise in the section indices, notably Goods & Services for Household Maintenance (1.6 percent) and Carpets & Other Floor Coverings (1.5 percent).
The rise in the Goods & Services for Household Maintenance section index follows the quarterly survey on domestic servants’ monthly wages, which went up by an average of 3.9 percent between September and December.
The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels group index registered an increase of 0.4 percent from 119.9 to 120.3 between the two months.
“This was attributed to a rise in the constituent section index of Rent paid by tenants (1.1 percent), which follows the quarterly survey on private rentals that increased by an average of 2.5 percent between September and December”, it said.
The Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages Group Index recorded a decrease of 0.6 percent, from 151.9 in November to 150.0 in December.
The fall in the Food Group Index was due to the general decrease in prices of the constituent section indices, notably Bread & Cereals (-1.5 percent), Fruits (-0.8 percent), Oils & Fats (-0.7 percent), Vegetables (-0.4 percent) and Mineral Waters, Soft Drinks, Fruits & Vegetable Juices (-0.4 percent).
Imported Tradeables inflation rate recorded an increase of 2.7 percentage points between November and December, from 3.3 to 6.0 percent.
The Domestic Tradeables inflation rate went down from 3.3 percent in November to 1.9 percent in December, while the Non-Tradeables inflation rate increased from 8.3 percent in November to 8.5 in December.
The All ÔÇôTradeables inflation rate registered an increase of 1.0 percentage point, up from 4.1 percent in November to 5.1 percent in December.
The Imported Tradeables index went up by 0.1 percent ÔÇô from 126.5 to 126.6 between the two periods.
The Domestic Tradeables index registered a drop of 0.3 percent between November and December, from 149.4 to 149.0.
The Non-Tradeables index rose by 0.5 percent ÔÇô from 122.6 in November to 123.2 in December. The All- Tradeables index was stable at 134.2 in December, the same figure recorded in November.
