In April 2016, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index went down to 0.41 per cent, from 0.53 per cent registered in March 2016, the NSO said today.

Retail Price Index: April 2016

The monthly inflation rate registered in April 2016 was 0.56 per cent, down from 0.66 per cent registered in March 2016.

The main upward impacts on annual inflation were recorded in the Beverages and Tobacco Index (0.26 percentage points), the Food Index (0.21 percentage points) and the Housing Index (0.15 percentage points). This was mainly due to higher prices of cigarettes, restaurant services (including cafeterias and the like) and costlier products related to house maintenance respectively.

The Transport and Communication Index (0.47 percentage points), the Clothing and Footwear Index (0.25 percentage points) and the Water, Electricity, Gas and Fuels Index (0.04 percentage points) were the main downward impacts on annual inflation, mainly reflecting price reductions in the prices of fuel, garments and gas respectively.

The twelve-month moving average rate was 0.95 per cent.