Headline inflation dips to two year low of 2.8% in April

Tuesday, 24 April 2018 00:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The year-on-year National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) headline inflation has declined to 2.8% in March, lowest since April 2016, from 3.2% in February 2018, the Central Bank said yesterday.

It said the headline Inflation, as measured by the change in the NCPI, which is compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), continued to follow the declining trend exhibited since November 2017.

The NCPI Core inflation, which reflects the underlying inflation in the economy, continued its declining trend observed since September 2017 and decreased to 1.9% in March from 2.0% in February, on year-on-year basis. Annual average NCPI Core inflation declined to 3.6% in March from 4.1% in February.

The monthly decline in food prices in March was supported by the favourable supply conditions attributed to this sharp decline in year-on-year inflation in March. The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis decreased from 7.2% in February to 6.7% in March.

When monthly change is considered, the NCPI declined from 123.7 index points in February to 122.8 index points in March, mainly due to the decline in prices of the items in the food category, particularly that of vegetables, big onions, rice and red onions.

The Central Bank also said marginal price increases were observed in alcoholic beverages and tobacco, transport, and miscellaneous goods and services sub-categories.