Cost of living going up and up

THE cost of living has been escalating over the last 10 years, as reflected by the following indicators. On average, over the 10 years, domestic consumer prices have gone up by 2.5% per annum, while asset prices (eg residential properties) have gone up by 6.1% per annum.

This was largely due to cost push factors from rising global commodity prices over the period – rice up 47.4%; wheat 61.5%; crude palm oil 46.6%; crude oil 142.6%.