Bureau of Statistics says inflation jumps to 12.3% in November

The National Bureau of Statistics says the composite Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation rose to 12.3 per cent year-on-year in November against 11.7 per cent in October. The bureau said in its CPI report for November posted on its Website on Monday.

“On a year-on-year basis, the relative increase in the headline index in November was as a result of higher prices in both the food and core indices. The core sub-index has deviated from its trend over the previous months, increasing to 13.1 per cent. The food prices continue to indicate lagged effects of the floods which occurred from July to mid-October.

“The food index increased year-on-year to 11.6 per cent,” the report said. It said that the headline index was made up of the core index and farm produce items. The report said that the processed foods were included in both the core and food sub-indices, which implied that the sub-indices were not mutually-exclusive. It said, “On a monthly basis, the composite CPI was higher by 0.60 per cent when compared with October, 2012.

“In November, the urban inflation rate was recorded at 15.8 per cent year-on-year, an increase of 0.5 per cent from the 15.3 per cent increase recorded in October. The rural index increased by 0.7 per cent to 9.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis from October. On a month-on-month basis, the Urban All index increased by 0.6 per cent from October, while the Rural All Items index increased by 0.63 when compared with the previous month.”