Inflation down slightly in October, food prices up

In October 2018, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index (RPI) was 1.62 per cent, down from 1.64 per cent in September 2018, the National Statistics Office has said.

The twelve-month moving average rate was 1.11 per cent.

The largest upward impact on annual inflation was measured in the Food Index, while the largest downward impact was recorded in the Clothing and Footwear Index.

The highest inflation rates in October 2018 were registered in the following main groups: Food (4.99%), and Housing (1.88%). On the other hand, the lowest annual inflation rate was registered in the Clothing and Footwear (-0.54%) and the Household Equipment and House Maintenance Costs (0.22%).

In October 2018, the largest upward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Food Index (1.07 percentage points), mainly to due higher prices of take-aways. The second and third largest impacts were measured in the Transport and Communications Index (0.17 percentage points) and the Housing Index (0.15 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of fuels and house maintenance services respectively.

The downward impacts of annual inflation were registered in the Clothing and Footwear Index (0.04 percentage points) and Household Equipment and House Maintenance Cost Index (0.02 percentage points), mainly reflecting lower prices for garments and household textiles respectively.