The Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) has disclosed in its latest report that the overall rate of inflation, as gauged by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) on a Year-on-Year basis, has significantly decreased to 2.5% in March 2024, marking a notable decline from 5.1% reported in February 2024.
According to the report, the contributions to the inflation rate for March 2024 from the food and non-food groups stand at 2.1% and 0.4% respectively.
On a monthly basis, the Year-on-Year inflation rate of the food group remained stable at 5.0% in March 2024, consistent with the February 2024 figure. Conversely, the Year-on-Year inflation of the non-food group dropped to 0.7% in March 2024 from 5.1% in February 2024.
The decline in index values of non-food groups in March 2024, compared to the previous month, was predominantly driven by price reductions in categories such as ‘Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels’ (including electricity bills) and ‘Clothing and Footwear’. However, there were price increases reported for categories such as ‘Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Narcotics’, as well as ‘Restaurants and Hotels’.
Additionally, core inflation, which excludes volatile items such as food, energy, and transport groups, witnessed an increase to 3.4% in March 2024 from 2.7% reported in February 2024, reflecting underlying inflationary pressures in the economy.
