Retail Price Index sees inflation rise to 6% in May

Inflation rose to 6% in May on the back of higher housing and food prices, the Retail Price Index published today shows.

Figures released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the annual rate for housing stood at 15.5% and that for food at 9.9%. The housing index includes rent, materials used for house maintenance and maintenance services.

May’s inflation increase is a continuation of previous months. The 12-month moving average rate for the month of May stands at 3.3%, the highest it has been in three years.

The RPI is used as a benchmark to set the annual statury cost of living wage increase.

A MaltaToday survey in June showed that concerns over rising food prices has more than doubled.

The findings show that 28.1% of people consider inflation and higher food prices as their principal worry. This is more than double the number of people who indicated inflation as a main concern in March and is a reflection of the exorbitant price rises across the board.

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