Consumer price index up from 116.57 to 117.14 in June

The National Statistics Office said the increase primarily reflected an increase of 3.8 per cent in the Restaurants and Hotels Index due to seasonally higher prices for accommodation services.

Costlier air fares caused the Transport Index to go up by 0.7 per cent, while  Furniture, Household Equipment and Routine Maintenance of the House Index registered an increase of 0.5 per cent, mainly due to an upward movement in the price of furniture and furnishings, the NSO said.

It added that Price rises in materials for the maintenance and repair of dwellings underlay an increase of 0.1 per cent in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index.

A similar upward move was recorded in the Health Index and in the Recreation and Culture Index due to a small increase in prices of pharmaceutical products and higher-priced package tours, respectively.

The Communication Index declined by 2.0 per cent, mainly due to cheaper internet services, the NSO said, while the Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages Index went down by 0.9 per cent as a result of lower fruit prices.

A similar downward move was registered in the Clothing and Footwear Index on account of seasonal reductions in the prices of garments.

The Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index registered a fall of 0.2 per cent, mostly brought about by lower-priced jewellery items.

In June, the twelve-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 2.8 per cent, whereas the annual rate of inflation stood at 3.1 per cent,