St John’s Antigua, March 18, 2025. The Statistics Division, under the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance releases the CPI for Nov 2024.
Year-on-Year Analysis
In the twelve months ending November 2024, the All Items Index increased by 6.4%, rising from 5.3% in October. Similarly, the All Items Less Food and Energy Index saw a 6.3% increase over the same period, reflecting persistent inflationary pressures across various categories.
The Food Index rose 5.5% over the past year, with vegetables prices playing a major role in this increase. The Vegetables Index surged 9.3%, contributing 38.8% of the overall food inflation. Within this category, the Fresh and Chilled Vegetables Index increased 18.8%, accounting for 89.0% of the total increase in vegetables prices. Notably, the average prices of tomatoes, lettuce, sweet peppers, and broccoli climbed by more than 50%. Other food items also saw significant price hikes, with the Milk, Cheese, and Eggs Index increasing 9.5%, while Eggs and Egg-Based Products alone increased 20.2%. The Food Products N.E.C. Index also recorded a 7.8% increase.
Excluding food and energy, the All Items Less Food and Energy Index rose 6.3%, largely driven by four key categories. The Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index saw the largest increase, rising 22.0%, followed closely by Restaurants and Hotels, which increased by 20.9%. Prices for Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics climbed 11.6%, while the Communication Index recorded an 11.9% increase.
Month-to-Month Price Changes
The Monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.5% in November 2024. The Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index increased 1.9% over the month, with notable price movements across multiple food categories. The Food Index alone increased 1.7%, as five out of nine food group indexes recorded higher prices. The Vegetables Index led the monthly increase, rising 7.1%, driven by a 19.4% surge in Fresh and Chilled Vegetables, the highest monthly increase in this category since December 2018. Other food groups with significant price hikes included Oils and Fats (+2.6%), Fish and Seafood (+2.3%), and Fruits (+1.5%).
While some food categories had price increases, others experienced slight declines. The Bread and Cereals Index fell 1.1%, while Meat and Meat Products declined 0.9%. The Milk, Cheese, and Eggs Index dropped 0.6%, and the Sugar, Jams, Honey, Chocolate, and Confectionery Index had a minor decrease of 0.1%.
The All Items Less Food and Energy Index increased 1.6% in November. This rise was primarily due to notable price hikes in three key categories. Transport Services experienced a significant increase of 26.7%, while Actual Rent for Housing rose 1.2%. Additionally, Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, and Narcotics saw a more modest increase of 0.4%.
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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.
Copies of the CPI for Nov 2024 can be accessed on the Division’s official website www.statistics.gov.ag.
November 2024 Monthly CPI Publication: