High inflation likely to affect interest rates

THE recent data released by the Statistics Department suggests that the impact of the recent hike in fuel prices on inflation has slowly diminished.  

The inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), moderated to 3.9% from May last year. This came in lower-than-market consensus of 4.1%. The CPI reached its peak for the first five months of the year at 4.8% in March before moderating to 4.6% in April.