Inflation drops further in November, says CB

The Central Bank said this week that inflation, as measured by the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) (2006/07=100) computed by the Department of Census and Statistics, decreased on a year-on-year basis (YoY) to 4.7% in November from 5.1% in October 2011.

“This declining trend was observed for the fourth consecutive month. The annual average inflation also decreased to 6.9% in November from 7.1% in the previous month. In addition, the core inflation, in terms of both YoY and annual average continued to decrease to 4.9% and 7.2%, respectively, in November as compared to that of October 2011,” the Bank added.

Meanwhile, the general price level as indicated by the monthly index recorded a marginal increase of 0.7% in November 2011 over that of the previous month, with the Index increasing in absolute terms to 152.6 from 151.5.

The contribution to the monthly increase in the Index came mainly from price increases in the Non-food category (0.9%) followed by the Food and non- alcoholic beverages category (0.5%).

The upward revision of fuel prices in response to the price movement in the global market and increases in the prices of certain varieties of vegetables, lime, green chilli, big onion, red onion and rice, especially towards the end of the month, owing to the lower supply resulting from bad weather conditions and seasonal factors contributed to the increase in the CCPI.

Within the Non-food category, prices in the sub categories of Transport (2.1%); Clothing and footwear (1.4%); Furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance (1.1%); Recreation and culture (0.5%); Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (0.4%); and Miscellaneous goods and services (0.5%) increased.

A decline in prices of coconut, coconut oil, fresh fish and sea food, chicken, egg, sugar and dhal in November 2011 compared to the previous month was also reported. Meanwhile, the prices in the sub categories of Health; Communication; and Education remained unchanged during the month under reference, the Central Bank added.