St John’s Antigua, March 11, 2026. The Statistics Division, under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance releases the CPI for Jan 2026.
Year-on-Year Analysis
The Consumer Price Index fell 1.3% for the twelve months ending January 2026, mainly due to lower average prices in Transport, Miscellaneous Goods and Services, Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance.
The index for Transport Services fell 15.2%, primarily due to a large decline in the average price of airline fares, particularly to Barbados, over the one year period. The average fare declined from $ 2,576.20 to $ 1,701.32.
The index for Miscellaneous Goods and Services fell 4.8%. The largest contributors to the decline were Hairdressing Salons and Personal Grooming Establishments, down 25.5%, and Other Appliances, Articles, and Products for Personal Care, down 2.5%.
The index for Food decreased by 2.1%. The Index for Vegetables, Fruits, and Fish and Seafood were the largest contributors to the decline in the Food index. In the Vegetable category, all three sub-categories recorded a decrease, with the index for Fresh and Chilled Vegetables recording the largest decrease of 16.3%. Within the category for Fruits, the index for Fresh or Chilled fruit decreased by 2.5%.
The index for All Items Less Food and Energy declined by 1.4%. This decline was influenced by the reductions in the Transport Services, Miscellaneous Goods and Services, and Furnishings and Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance.
Month-to-Month Price Changes
In January 2026, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined by 1.9% compared to December 2025. The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index decreased by 4.9% over the month. All Items Less Food and Energy declined by 0.9% over the same one-month period.
The index for Food fell 5.0% with seven of the nine major supermarket food groups declining over the one month. The decreases were largely attributed to decreases in the indexes for: Meat and Meat Products (-8.4%), Fish and Seafood (-8.0%), Vegetables (-7.2%), and Fruit (-6.9%). In contrast, the index for Bread and Cereals rose 0.5% while the index for Sugar, Jams, Honey, Chocolate, and Confectionery rose 0.1%.
The Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index declined by 4.1%, driven by a 8.5% decrease in the index for Soft Drinks and Concentrates and a 4.3% decline in the index for Mineral Waters.
The index for All Items less Food and Energy declined by 0.9% over the month. The decrease was caused by a decline in the indexes for Transport Services (-8.0%), Communication (-3.0%) and Miscellaneous goods and services (-1.1%).
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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 National Bureau of Statistics.
Copies of the CPI for Jan 2026 can be accessed on the National Bureau of Statistics website www.statistics.gov.ag
Monthly CPI Publication: