NEWS RELEASE
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
October 2006

November 14, 2006

The Consumer Price Index Bulletin released by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica revealed that the All Jamaica ‘All Group’ Consumer Price Index for October 2006 was 2417.9. This represented a decrease of 0.1 percent over September which had an index of 2419.8. Inflation rates of 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent were recorded for the months of September and August, respectively. For the calendar year to date, December 2005 to October 2006, the rate of inflation stood at 5.4 percent, 7.1 percentage points below the 12.5 percent recorded for the period December 2004 to October 2005. The rate of inflation for the period October 2005 to October 2006 was 5.8 percent, in comparison to 15.9 percent for the similar period last year.

A look at the regional indices showed increases for two of the three regions: Kingston Metropolitan Area up by (0.3 percent), Other Towns up by (0.2 percent) while in the Rural Areas the index declined by (0.8 percent).

For the month of October, increases were recorded in four of the eight major group indices that make up the All Jamaica index. A negligible movement was recorded in the index for the group ‘Food and Drink’, with the most significant movement reflected in the index for the sub-group ‘Starchy Foods’ which declined by 3.5 percent. Among the other sub-groups that make up the group, increases ranged from 0.2 percent for ‘Baked Products, Cereal and Breakfast Drink’ to 2.1 percent for ‘Vegetables and Fruit’.
‘Other Food and Beverages’ increased by 0.3 percent, ‘Meals Away from Home’ (0.4 percent), ‘Meat, Poultry and Fish’ (0.6 percent), while ‘Dairy Products, Oils and Fats’ moved upwards by 0.7 percent.

 The index for the group ‘Fuels and Other Household Supplies’ increased by 0.6 percent, with upward movements of 0.2 and 0.9 percent in the index for the sub-groups ‘Household Supplies’ and ‘Fuels’, respectively.

The index for the groups ‘Miscellaneous Expenses’ and ‘Healthcare and Personal Expenses’ showed similar increases of 0.1 percent, while ‘Personal Clothing, Footwear and Accessories’ rose by 0.3 percent. There was a downward movement of 1.2 percent in the index for the group ‘Housing and Other Housing Expenses’, due largely to the reduction in the cost of electricity. A decline of 0.8 percent in the index for the group ‘Transportation’ was also recorded.