Consumer prices down 0.2% for November
Stabroek News
January 4, 2004
A 0.2% decrease in consumer items has been recorded for the month of November in the Urban Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket of goods and services, according to the Bureau of Statistics.
The price index value moved accordingly from 185.5 in October 2003 to 185.1 in November 2003.
As such, the year-to-date inflation rate, which is from December 2002 to November 2003, was measured at 5.4%. On an annual basis the Georgetown index rose by 5.5%, when comparing November 2002 with November 2003.
The decrease in prices of 0.2% in November was primarily influenced by an overall decrease in prices in the Food group of 0.7%. This decrease resulted in the downward price movement in the sub-categories Vegetables and Vegetable Products by 8.6%, and Fruits and Fruit Products by 5.2%. There were increases in the sub-categories Cereals and Cereal Products by 0.7%, Pulses and Pulse Products by 0.9%, Meat, Fish and Eggs by 1.9%, Milk and Milk Products by 0.2%, Oils and Fats by 0.8%, Condiments and Spices by 2.4%, Sugar, Honey and related products by 0.5% and Non-Alcoholic Beverages by 0.2%. But these increases did not reverse the overall downward price trend of the food group, according to a release from the Bureau of Statistics.
The release said that recorded increases in the prices of other goods and services did not affect the overall decline in the index for November. Retail prices in the furniture group increased by 0.1% while sub-category Cleaning Materials rose by 0.2% and Household Appliances declined by 0.1%. There were also increases in the Transport and Communication group by 0.3 of which the sub-category Personal Transport Equipment rose by 0.8%. The Medical and Personal Care group saw an increase of 2.1%.