St John’s Antigua, September 3, 2021. The Statistics Division, under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance releases the CPI for Jul 2021
Year-on-Year Analysis
The All Items index rose 2.3% for the twelve months ending July 2021. The Food index increased 1.2% over the last twelve months. Six of the nine major supermarket food group indexes rose over the span, with increases ranging from +1.3% (Milk, Cheese, and Eggs) to +7.2% (Oils and Fats). The index for Fruits rose 6.1% over the last year and the index for Food Products N.E.C increased 5.7%. The index for Bread and Cereals advanced by 4.7%.
The indexes for Vegetables and Sugar, Jams, Honey, Chocolate and Confectionery were the only two major supermarket indexes with decreases below (-2.0%). The index for Vegetables fell 3.0% while the index for Sugar, Jams, Honey, Chocolate, and Confectionery declined by 2.1%
The index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 3.9% over the past twelve months. The index for Communication increased by 16.6%, attributed to average price increases in cell phones and internet packages. The index for Clothing and Footwear increased 10.9%, the increase was influenced by a 16.0% increase in the index for Clothing. The index for Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance rose 6.0%,it was attributed largely to increases in the indexes for Tools and Equipment for House and Garden (+58.0%) and Household Textiles (+32.4%). The Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics index increased 4.6% over the twelve months.
Month-to-Month Price Changes
The Monthly Consumer Price Index increased 0.4% after rising 0.2% in June.
The Food index remained unchanged in June. The Food index had mixed results in the nine major supermarket food groups. The index for Milk, Cheese, and Eggs had the largest increase of 3.1%, while the Oils and Fats index had the smallest increase of 1.0%. The index for Food Products N.E.C rose 1.3% after increasing 3.3% in June. The index for Fish and Seafood increased 1.2% following a decrease of 0.2% in June 2021.
The index for Fruit fell 5.8% after rising 13.2% in June. The index for Sugar, Jam, Honey, Chocolate, and Confectionery declined by 1.8% and the index for Bread and Cereals fell by 1.5%.
The index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 0.6%, its largest monthly increase in seven months. The Communication index rose 8.7% in July and accounted for a significant amount of the increase in the All Items less Food and Energy index. The index for Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance rose 2.4% and the index for Health increased 2.5%.
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Methodology
What is the consumer price index (CPI) measuring and how is it done?
The All Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the main measure of what is commonly called inflation, or headline inflation. It measures the change in prices, on average, from month to month, and from year to year of the goods and services bought by most households.
Prices are collected monthly and quarterly from supermarkets and other suppliers of goods and services. The pattern of household expenditure on these goods and services is derived from a regular household budget (or expenditure) survey (HBS). The prices and spending patterns (known as weights) are then combined to calculate the price indices for groups of goods and services and for the All Items index. These indices are based on expenditure patterns in 2006.
The All Items (or overall) index, with all of its twelve (12) component indices, is published each month.
For a detailed account of the methodology used in calculating the CPI, please call the Statistics Division.