Inflation in July at 0.6%

In July, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices stood at 0.6 per cent.

In the month under review, the annual rate of inflation stood at 0.6 per cent.

A year earlier the annual rate was 0.9 per cent.

The largest upward impacts on annual inflation were brought about by the Restaurants and Hotels Index (0.6 percentage points), the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Index (0.2 percentage points) and the Furniture, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House Index (0.2 percentage points). This was mainly due to costlier restaurant services, cigarettes and household appliances respectively.

The main downward impacts were recorded in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index (-0.7 percentage points) and the Communication Index (-0.1 percentage point). This was mainly due to lower electricity rates and prices of mobile phones respectively.

The twelve-month moving average rate was 0.8 per cent.