St John’s Antigua, June 16, 2026. The Statistics Division, under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance releases the CPI for May 2026.
Year-on-Year Analysis
The Consumer Price Index increased by 4.1% over the twelve-month period from May 2025 to May 2026. The annual increase was driven mainly by higher costs for Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels.
The index for Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels rose by 8.2% and accounted for 46.5% of the overall change in the All-Items CPI. The sub-category, Actual Rentals for Housing increased by 6.3%, while Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels rose by 21.4%. The Electricity Index increased by 25.0%, while the Gas Index (LPG) remained unchanged.
The Energy Index rose by 12.0% over the period, mainly reflecting the increase in the fuel variation charge from 56 cents to 70 cents.
The index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased by 2.4%, reflecting increases of 2.4% in Food and 2.3% in Non-Alcoholic Beverages. The main contributors to food inflation were Food Products Not Elsewhere Classified and Vegetables, which rose by 8.0% and 6.3%, respectively.
The All-Items Less Food and Energy index increased by 3.7%, indicating broader price increases beyond food and energy. This increase was driven mainly by Recreation and Culture, which rose by 30.2%. Additional indexes with notable increases over the one-year period include Transport Services (+19.6%), Education (+13.3), Actual Rental for Housing (+6.3%) and Restaurants and Hotels (+4.5%).
Month-to-Month Price Changes
The Consumer Price Index increased by 0.4% in May 2026 compared with April 2026. The monthly increase was driven mainly by higher prices for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages and Energy, partially offset by a decline in Transport Services.
The index for Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose by 0.9% over the month. The sub-category, Food index increased by 1.6%, reflecting price increases in five of the nine major supermarket food categories. Oils and Fats recorded the largest increase, rising by 7.1%, followed by Fruit, up 6.7%; Meat and Meat Products, up 5.6%; Milk, Cheese and Eggs, up 5.2%; and Food Products Not Elsewhere Classified, up 4.9%.
The Energy index increased by 13.0% between April 2026 and May 2026. This was driven mainly by the Electricity Index, which rose by 27.3% over
the month.
The All-Items Less Food and Energy Index declined by 0.9% in May 2026. This decrease was mainly due to a 14.5% decline in Transport Services, while the remaining categories were generally unchanged.
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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 May 2026 can be accessed on the National Bureau of Statistics website www.statistics.gov.ag
Monthly CPI Publication: