Inflation moderates in March but takeaways push food prices higher

Annual inflation in March moderated to 6.95% but food prices remained a major concern, data released by the National Statistics Office shows.

In March, the annual rate of inflation measured by the Retail Price Index was down from the 7.11% recorded in February.

The RPI is the mechanism on which the cost of living adjustment is worked out.

The NSO said the highest annual inflation rates in March were registered in Housing (14.58%) and Food (11.78%). However, food, which includes restaurants and takeaways, registered the largest annual increase at 2.53%.

The NSO attributed the food-price increase to higher prices of takeaways.

On the flipside, the Water, Electricity, Gas and Fuels sector had the lowest annual inflation rates at zero per cent. This is the result of government’s ongoing commitment to subsidise water and electricity tariffs in the wake of market volatility caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Malta’s water and electricity prices have practically remained unchanged since 2014, while the last price change in fuel was in June 2020.

A breakdown of the Housing Index shows that rent registered an annual rate of 10.36%, materials for house maintenance registered an annual rate of 13.25% while house maintenance services registered an annual rate of 17.39%.