Inflation for May as measured by the All Jamaica ‘All Divisions’ Consumer Price Index increased by 0.5 percent, a 0.1 percentage point increase over the 0.4 percent increase recorded for April 2013, this according to a release from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin).
The CPI movement was influenced by a 0.8 percent increase in prices for ‘Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages’, the heaviest weighted division in the computation of the Index. The main contributor to the division’s inflation was an increase of 1.3 percent in the index for ‘Vegetables and Starchy Foods’. ‘Transport’, the second heaviest weighted division, recorded a decline, moving down by 0.2 percent. This was primarily because of lower prices for ‘Fuels and Lubricants for Personal Transport Equipment’, particularly petrol, Statin said. The third heaviest weighted division of the CPI, ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’, recorded an increase of 0.7 percent. The upward movement in the index for May 2013 resulted in a calendar year-to-date movement of 3.7 percent.
The other divisions that recorded increases were ‘Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco’ 0.7 percent, ‘Clothing and Footwear’ 0.3 percent, ‘Furnishings Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance’ 0.6 percent, ‘Health’ 0.3 percent, ‘Recreation and Culture’ 0.7 percent, ‘Restaurants and Accommodation Services’ 0.3 percent, and ‘Miscellaneous Goods and Services’ 0.4 percent. No movement was recorded for ‘Education and ‘Communication’.
All three regions covered by the survey recorded increases for the period; Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area (GKMA) 0.6 percent, Other Urban Centres (OUC) 0.8 percent and Rural Areas 0.4 percent.
