Retail Price Index at 0.01% in April

In the month under review, the annual rate stood at 0.01 per cent. A year earlier the annual rate was 1.40 per cent.

The upward impacts on annual inflation were brought about by the Beverages and Tobacco Index (0.33 percentage points), the Recreation and Culture Index (0.33 percentage points) and the Household Equipment and House Maintenance Cost Index (0.13 percentage points). This was mainly due to costlier cigarettes, newspapers and furniture respectively.

The downward impacts were recorded in the Water, Electricity, Gas and Fuels Index (-0.61 percentage points), Clothing and Footwear Index (-0.27 percentage points) and Transport and Communications Index (-0.07 percentage points), mainly due to lower electricity rates, prices of garments and fuel prices respectively.

The twelve-month moving average rate was 0.99 per cent