Consumer price index – April 2020
Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the most well-known indicator of inflation and is perhaps not an uncommon subject when it comes to economic fundamentals.
If the CPI is rising, the economy is going through a phase of inflation while the economic situation where the CPI value falls below zero is called deflation.
Implications of inflation affects our salaries and our ability to purchase every day items, food prices go up, transportation prices increase, and gas prices rise, while the cost of various other goods and services shoot up over time.
Inflationary problems arise when we experience unexpected inflation which is not adequately matched by a rise in people’s incomes.
With the impact of this COVID19, many incomes have been scrapped or decreased along with the increase in prices of goods, everyone’s purchasing power has been effectively reduced, which in turn will have a spill-over effect on the general economy.
Fiji Bureau of Statistics
In the latest release by the Fiji
Bureau of Statistics, the average annual rate of inflation for the 12 months to April 2020 [i.e. comparing the average CPI for the 12 months from May 2019 – April 2020; with the average for the 12 months from May 2018 – April 2019] stands at -0.3 per cent while the month- on- month inflation rate [compared with April 2019] stands at -1.3 percent.
Details of price changes between March 2020 and April 2020 by expenditure class are as follows:
■Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 4.7 per cent. Higher prices were recorded for bread and cereals, meat, fish andsea food, milk, cheese and eggs, oils and fats, fruit, vegetables, confectionery, food products not elsewhere classified and non-alcoholic beverages such as coffee, tea and cocoa and mineral water and soft drinks.
■A●coho●ic beverages, tobacco and narcotics increased by 0.6 per cent.
Higher prices were recorded for but spirits, beer, and tobacco.
■ Clothing and footwear was up by 0.1 per cent.
Higher prices were recorded for clothing materials, garments and other articles of clothing and clothing accessories.
■Hea●th was up by 0.3 per cent. Higher prices were recorded for pharmaceutical products.
■Tra■sport decreased by 1.7 per cent. Lower prices were recorded for cars, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment.
■Recreatio■ and culture was up by 0.1 per cent.
Higher prices were recorded for information processing equipment, and equipment for sport, camping and open are recreation.
■ Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels decreased by 0.1 per cent.
Lower prices recorded for other materials for the maintenance repair of the dwelling and liquid fuels.
■Fur■ishi■gs, household equipment and routine household maintenance increased by 0.6 per cent. Higher prices were recorded for household textiles, major tools and equipment, small tools and miscellaneous accessories and non-durable household goods.
■Restaura■ts and hotels decreased by 0.2 per cent.
Lower price changes were recorded for restaurants, and the like.
■Misce●●a■eous goods and services increased by 0.1 per cent. Higher prices were recorded for other appliances, articles and products for personal care and jewellery, clocks and watches. No price change was recorded in communication and education. Inflation is simply the increase in price of goods and services or the decline in purchasing power of our income.
When prices go up, the amount which can be bought with a fixed amount of money goes down; when prices fall, the amount which can be bought increases. cafes