St John’s Antigua, October 26, 2022. The Statistics Division, under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance releases the CPI for Sep 2022.
Year-on-Year Analysis
All Items Index increased 8.6% for the twelve months ending September 2022 a slightly larger increase than the 8.3% for the period ending August 2022.
The Food Index rose 14.6% over the last twelve months. All nine major supermarket food group indexes increased over the same period. The index for Oils and Fats rose 25.1% over the year and the index for Meat and Meat Products increased by 19.4%. The remaining food groups posted increases ranging from 4.4% (Fruits) to 16.5% (Vegetables).
The indexes for Vegetables, Meat and Meat Products, and Bread and Cereals are the three food groups’ indexes influencing the increase in the index for Food. The index for Vegetables accounted for 26.0% of the change while Meat and Meat contributed 23.8%. The index for Bread and Cereals added 13.3%. The remaining groups’ influences range from 2.1% (Fruit) to 10.0% (Fish and Seafood).
The Index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 7.0% an identical increase in August 2022. The index for Restaurants and Hotels rose 11.9% in September. The index for Furnishings, Household Equipment, and routine Household Maintenance rose 13.9%.
Month-to-Month Price Changes
The Monthly Consumer Price Index rose 0.1% in September 2022 after 0.0% in August.
The Food Index rose 1.6% in September 2022, as seven of the nine major supermarkets’ food indexes increased.
The index for Milk, Cheese, and Eggs rose by 7.8% while the index for Fruits increased by 3.3% over the month. The index for Oils and Fats increased by 2.4% a smaller increase than the 2.9% in August. The index for Bread and Cereals and Meat and Meat Products increased by 2.1% and 2.0% respectively. The index for Fish and Seafood rose by 1.3%.
However, the indexes for Sugars, Jam, Honey, Chocolate and Confectionery, and Food Products N.E.C declined by 4.3% and 1.2%.
The Index for All Items Less Food and Energy declined by 0.3% in September. The index for Restaurants and Hotels rose 11.6%. The increase was offset by declines in the indexes for Alcoholic Beverages Tobacco and Narcotics (-1.5%) and the index for Transport Services (- 10.8%).
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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.
Copies of the CPI for September 2022 can be accessed on the Division’s official website www.statistics.gov.ag
September 2022 Monthly CPI Publication:
Issued by:
Statistics Division
Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance