BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Feb 7 (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): The inflation rate was at 3.7 per cent in 2022 compared to 1.7 per cent in 2021.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages and non-food indexes increased by 5.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent.
The increase in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index was mainly due to the rising meat prices.
Meanwhile, the increase in the non-food index was mainly due to the rise in the costs of miscellaneous goods and services, as well as transportation.
In December 2022, the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.4 per cent compared to November 2022.
The rise was in line with the increase in the non-food index by 0.5 per cent due to the increase in air fares.
Moreover, the food and non-alcoholic beverages index showed an increase of 0.01 per cent, primarily contributed by the price hike of input materials for cakes, pastries, and biscuits.
Compared to December 2021, the CPI had increased by 3.3 per cent.
The rise in year-on-year price changes was parallel with the increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages; and non-food prices by 5.1 per cent and 2.8 per cent.
The increase in the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages was due to the rise in food prices such as meat at 11.1 per cent; fish and seafood at 6.6 per cent; and rice and cereals 6.4 per cent.
The rise in meat prices, especially for chicken meat, was due to the high cost of chicken feed.
Meanwhile, the rise in fish and seafood, mainly fresh fish, was due to unpredictable weather conditions. The increase in rice and cereals was mainly due to the price hike of input materials for cakes, pastries and biscuits.
The increase in price of non-food component was driven by miscellaneous goods and services 13.4 per cent; restaurants and hotels 4.8 per cent; and transport 4.2 per cent.
Miscellaneous goods and services prices rose mainly due to the increase in the price of vehicle insurance influenced by the market prices of cars.
Restaurants and hotels price increase was in line with the rise in the cost of contract catering services.
Meanwhile, the increase in the prices of transport was mainly due to the rise in motor vehicle prices and airfares. The CPI is a measure of price changes of goods and services paid by the consumer in a specified period and compiled on a monthly basis.
The list of goods and services in the CPI is based on the average expenditure per household from the Household Expenditure Survey (HES).
The CPI full report for December and Annual 2022 is available from the DEPS official website. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
