The consumer price index (CPI) increased at a slower pace in January by 0.1 per cent compared to January 2023. This was primarily due to the 2.1-per-cent increase in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index, said the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (JPES) at the Ministry of Finance and Economy in a statement yesterday, adding that the non-food index recorded a decrease of 0.4 per cent.
The year-on-year increase in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index was mainly driven by the rise in the prices of non-alcoholic beverages (10.9 per cent), particularly ready-to-consume low-sugar drinks; and milk, dairy products and eggs (4.5 per cent).
Meanwhile, a decrease in the non-food index was mainly due to a fall in the prices of clothing and footwear (4.5 per cent); and communication (3.1 per cent), particularly the decline in telephone and telefax services prices.
For month-on-month changes, the CPI recorded a decrease of 1.3 per cent compared to December 2023, contributed by a fall in the non-food index by 1.6 per cent.
However, the food and non-alcoholic beverages index recorded a 0.2-per-cent increase.
The decrease in non-food index was mainly contributed by the fall in the prices of transport (5.2 per cent); and recreation and culture (2.3 per cent). Meanwhile, an increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages index was mainly attributed to the rise in prices of fish and seafood (1.3 per cent); and milk, dairy products and eggs (1.2 per cent).
The CPI is a measure of price changes of basket of goods and services paid by the consumer in a specified period and compiled on a monthly basis.
The list of goods and services in the CPI is based on the average expenditure per household from the Household Expenditure Survey (HES).
The CPI full report for January 2024 is available from the JPES website at https://deps.mofe.gov.bn.
