News Releases
Consumer Price
Index
December 2011
January 16, 2012
The All Jamaica ‘All Divisions’ Consumer Price Index for December 2011 was 178.2, representing an
inflation rate of 0.4 per cent. The largest increase of 1.3 per
cent was recorded in the index for the division ‘Housing, Water, Electricity,
Gas and Other Fuels’ this movement was followed by a 0.7 per cent increase for
items in the division ‘Clothing and Footwear’.
The increase in the index recorded for December was similar to that registered in the month of November.
The highest monthly increase for the year
2011 occurred in March, when an upward movement of 1.1 per cent was recorded.
This was due to higher cost of oil on the international market and the increased
rates in the utilities Electricity and Water which were the main contributing
factors. The calendar year-to-date inflation rate was 6.0 per cent in comparison
to the 11.7 per cent that was obtained for the same period in 2010. The fiscal
year- to- date movement at 5.5 per cent was 1.8 percentage points below the 7.3
per cent movement that occurred for the period March 2010 to December 2010.
The other divisions that recorded increases in the All Jamaica ‘All Divisions’ index were :
‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’ 0.3
per cent, ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ 0.2 per cent, ‘Furnishings,
Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance’ 0.5 per cent, ‘Health’ 0.4 per
cent, ‘Recreation and Culture’ 0.6 per cent, ‘Restaurants and Accommodation
Services’ 0.1 per cent and
‘Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ 0.3 per cent, The divisions’ Transport’,
‘Communication’ and ‘Education’ all recorded negligible movements per cent for
the period.
The
regional indices showed increases for the three regions: Greater Kingston
Metropolitan Area and Other Urban Centres both recorded increases of
0.5 per cent each, while Rural Areas increased by 0.4 per cent.
The Consumer Price Index Bulletin
December 2011 further outlines additional information and may be obtained from
the Distribution office of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica 7 Cecelio
Avenue, Kingston 10.
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