The Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) has decelerated sharply to 0.9% in March 2024 from 5.9% in February 2024, the Central Bank said yesterday. 

It said the deceleration in the headline inflation is broadly in line with its projections.

Non-Food Category recorded a deflation (Y-o-Y) of 0.5% in March 2024 compared to the inflation of 7.0% observed in February 2024. Nevertheless, food inflation (Y-o-Y) accelerated to 3.8% in March 2024 from 3.5% in February 2024. Monthly change of CCPI recorded -1.94% in March 2024 due to the price decreases of 0.66% observed in the items of Food category and decreases of 1.28% observed in Non-Food category items. 

The core inflation (Y-o-Y), which reflects the underlying inflation trends in the economy, accelerated to 3.1% in March 2024 from 2.8% in February 2024.

“In spite of intermittent variations, inflation is expected to converge to the targeted level in the period ahead and remain around the target over the medium term, supported by appropriate policy measures,” Central Bank added.

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