The
Development Planning Unit
Government of the British Virgin Islands

Introduction

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the second quarter of (June) 2001 stood at 126.9 up from 126.1 as recorded in the previous month (May 2001).A quarter earlier (March) the index stood at 128.2. One year earlier the index stood at 123.6.

Monthly Comparison

The subgroups mainly responsible for the increase in the monthly index were; Food, Beverage & Tobacco which increased by 0.43 percent due mainly to the rise in the prices of whole chicken, fruits and vegetables, orange juice and rum. Furniture, & Household Supplies rose by 2.71 percent due to higher prices on gas ranges, detergents, and toilet paper. Transportation also increased by 0.92 percent while gasoline moved up 0.19 percentage points. The Miscellaneous subgroup, increased by 0.39 percent as a result of an increase in toothpaste prices. The other subgroups namely Housing, Clothing & Footwear and Services remained unchanged for the period.

Quarterly Comparison

The decline in the quarterly comparison was mainly due to the 6.10 percent decline on the Food, Beverage & Tobacco. The Housing and Clothing & Footwear subgroups reflected  the same indices as the previous quarter. The other subgroups indicated  increases for the period ( March - June,2001).Furniture & Household Supplies rose by 2.56 percent, followed by Transportation with a 0.92 percent, Miscellaneous 0.70 percent and Services 0.68 percent.

Annual Comparison

On an annual comparison, all the subgroups indicated a significant  increase. Food, Beverage & Tobacco rose by 4.09 percent, Housing 0.54 percent, Furniture & Household Supplies 0.41 percent, Clothing & Footwear 7.11 percent followed by Transportation with 0.84 percent. Services recorded a 1.28 percent increase while the Miscellaneous subgroup showed a  4.75 percent increase.

Rate of Inflation

The point-to-point monthly, quarterly and annual rate of inflation stood at 0.63,-1.01 and 2.67 percent respectively.

TABLE 1
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: MONTHLY AND ANNUAL COMPARISONS
(MARCH 1995=100)