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Introduction
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of May 2003 stood at
131.2.This level remains the same as that of the previous month (April
2003), whereas one year earlier (May 2002) the index stood at 126.9.
Monthly Comparison
The Different changes among the individual subgroups
were not sufficient to affect the overall index. Food, Beverage &
Tobacco Fell by 0.44 percent due mainly to lower prices of Vegetables,
Orange Juice and Ground Beef.The Service subgroups mainly responsible for the decrease in the
monthly index were: Food, Beverage & Tobacco, falling by 0.44
percent due mainly to the downward movements in prices of pork,
mayonnaise, fruits, vegetables, corn flakes and sugar; Furniture &
Household supplies which fell by 0.34 percent due to the lower prices of
detergents, toilet paper and garbage bags; and Clothing & Footwear which
decreased by 0.06 percent due to the lower price of pamper. A
reduction in the price of cough syrups and rubs brought about a 0.06
percent decline in the Services subgroup. The Miscellaneous subgroup
took a 0.17 percent increase due to the increase price of
toothpaste. The other subgroups namely Housing and Transportation
remained unchanged for the period under review.
Annual Comparison
On an annual comparison, all the subgroups indicated
significant increases with the exception of Housing which declined by
0.12 percent. Food, Beverage & Tobacco rose by 1.82 percent;
Furniture & Household Supplies took a 8.51 percent
increase, Clothing & Footwear increased by 2.71, Transportation
moved up by 10.04 percent and Services recorded a 0.28 percent
increase. The Miscellaneous subgroup increased by 4.08 percent .
Rate of Inflation
The point-to-point monthly and annual rates of inflation
stood at -0.15, and 3.47 percent respectively.
TABLE 1
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: MONTHLY AND ANNUAL COMPARISONS
(MARCH 1995=100)
| SUBGROUPS |
Wt. |
Apr.
2003 |
Mar.
2003 |
Monthly.
Comp. |
April
2002 |
Annual
Comp. |
| Food, Beverage & Tobacco |
268 |
121.6 |
121.6 |
-0.41 |
118.9 |
1.85 |
| Housing |
195 |
131.7 |
131.7 |
0.00 |
131.9 |
-0.15 |
| Furniture & Household Supplies |
118 |
162.5 |
163.1 |
-0.37 |
149.8 |
8.48 |
| Clothing & Footwear |
151 |
118.4 |
118.5 |
-0.08 |
115.3 |
2.69 |
| Transportation |
117 |
147.7 |
147.7 |
0.00 |
134.2 |
10.06 |
| Services |
99 |
119.1 |
119.2 |
-0.08 |
118.8 |
0.25 |
| Miscellaneous |
52 |
133.3 |
133.1 |
0.15 |
128.1 |
4.06 |
| All Groups |
1000 |
131.2 |
131.4 |
-0.15 |
126.8 |
3.47 |
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