The
Development Planning Unit
Government of the British Virgin Islands

Introduction

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of January 2003 registered an index of 130.6 barely up from the 130.5 level recorded in the previous month (December 2002). One year earlier (January 2002) the index stood at 126.8.

Monthly Comparison

The subgroups mainly responsible for the small increase in the monthly index were: Food, Beverage & Tobacco, which rose by 0.08 percent due mainly to the upward prices of V-8 juice, fruits & vegetables and corn  flakes; Furniture & Household Supplies, with a 0.18 percent increase due to higher pricing of garbage bags and insecticides; and Services which increased by 0.33 percent mainly from the higher prices of Vitamins and cough syrups and rubs. The other subgroups namely Housing , Clothing & Footwear, Transportation, and Miscellaneous remained  unchanged for the period.    

Annual Comparison

On an annual comparison, all the subgroups indicted significant increases with the exception of Housing which decline by 0.15 percent. Food, Beverage & Tobacco rose by 0.93 percent; Furniture & Household Supplies showed the largest increase of 9.25 followed by Transportation with a  was 7.88 percent increase. Clothing & Footwear had a 1.30 percent increase while Services recorded a 1.10 percent increase. The Miscellaneous subgroup realized a 4.58 percent increase. 

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

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