St John’s Antigua, March 26, 2026. The Statistics Division, under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance releases the CPI for Feb 2026.
Year-on-Year Analysis
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell 0.8% for the twelve-month period ending February 2026. The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index decreased by 1.1% over the same period, and the All Items Less Food and Energy index declined by 0.8% over the year.
The index for Food fell 0.8% over the twelve months ending February 2026. The Non-Alcoholic Beverage Index decreased 3.3% over the same period, as five of the nine major supermarket food groups declined. The index for Fruit and Vegetables declined by 11.8% and 3.8%, respectively. Additional declines were recorded for Meat and Meat Products (-3.6%), Oils and Fats (-2.3%), and Bread and Cereals (-1.3%). Despite the decrease, the indexes
for Fish and Seafood rose 12.3% while the index for Food Products N.E.C and Milk, Cheese, and Eggs rose 1.7% and 0.5% respectively.
The index for All Items less Food and Energy declined by 0.8% over the past twelve months. The indexes for Materials for the Maintenance and Repair of Dwelling and Actual Rentals for Housing decreased 5.8% and 3.9%. Other indexes with notable decreases over the year include Miscellaneous Goods and Services (-4.6%), Health (-4.4%), and Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (-3.4%).
Month-to-Month Price Changes
The monthly Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% in February 2026 after declining 1.9% in January 2026. The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index remained unchanged.
The Food index rose 0.4% following a decrease of -0.5% the previous month. The Food index recorded mixed results with four increases and five decreases. The index for Fish and Seafood rose 13.0% as the index for Fresh chilled or Frozen Fish and Seafood rose 40.9%. The indexes for Milk, Cheese, Eggs and Food Products N.E.C both rose 0.6%, the index for Vegetables rose 0.7%. Contrary to the increases, the indexes for Meat and Meat
Products and Bread and Cereals recorded the largest decline of 4.6% and 3.1% respectively.
The index for Non-Alcoholic Beverages fell 2.3%. The index was affected by declines in the indexes for Soft Drinks (-3.1%), Mineral Waters (-3.0%) and Fruit and Vegetable Juices (-2.0%). The index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 0.2% in February, following a 0.9% decline in January. The index for Transport Services rose
4.5%, as did the index for Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco and Narcotics, which increased by 2.2%. The index for Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance rose 1.5% over the month. The index for Miscellaneous Goods and Services rose 0.3% and the index for Actual Rentals for housing declined by -1.6%
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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 Feb 2026 can be accessed on the National Bureau of Statistics website www.statistics.gov.ag
Monthly CPI Publication: