December CPI up 1.2 % at 105.5

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December 2012 rose by 1.2 per cent to 105.5 from 104.2 recorded in the same month in 2011.

The Statistics Department said the CPI remained unchanged at 105.5 when compared with November last year.

For 2012, the CPI rose by 1.6 per cent to 104.9 compared with 103.2 registered in the previous year, it said in a statement.

The department also said the rise in the CPI was due to increases in the indices for all the main groups except communication, and clothing & footwear, which declined by 0.6 per cent, respectively.

"Notable increases among these main groups with high weights were food & non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas & other fuels and transport.

"The index for food & non-alcoholic beverages and non-food for December 2012 showed increases of two per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively, compared with the same month in 2011," it said.

The department said for the period January to December 2012, the index for food & non-alcoholic beverages and non-food increased by 2.7 and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

Compared with November last year, the index for non-food decreased by 0.1 per cent while the index for food & non-alcoholic beverages rose 0.3 per cent to 108.7, it said.