The consumer price index (inflation) for May rose to 125.09 from 124.93 for the same month of 2018, registering an increase of 0.1%, and rose by 0.5% for the first five months of this year, according to the Department of Statistics.

According to the report, the rents increased by 0.32 percentage points, vegetables, dry and canned cereals, cereals and products by 0.12 percentage points, fruits and nuts by 0.09 percentage points and education by 70.0 percentage points. On the other hand, the prices of a group of commodities declined by 0.28 percentage points, milk products and eggs by 0.19 percentage points, meat and poultry by 0.12 percentage points, and tobacco and cigarettes by 0.15 percentage points.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index for May 2019 rose by 0.2% compared to April of the same year.

The main commodity groups that contributed to this increase were the 0.30 percentage points increase in the meat and poultry sector, culture and entertainment by 0.06 percentage points, clothing by 0.05 percentage points, sugar and its products by 0.03 percentage points, fruit and nuts by 0.02 percentage points. The most prominent commodity groups whose prices declined were vegetables and dry and canned cereals by 0.12 percentage points, tobacco and cigarettes by 0.08 percentage points, dairy products and eggs by 0.05 percentage points and household appliances by 0.003 percentage points.

The report also pointed out that the consumer price index for the first five months of this year increased by 0.5% compared to the same period of 2018. The most prominent commodity groups that contributed to this increase were the group of vegetables and dried and canned beans by 0.42 percentage points, grain and its products by 0.28 percentage points, rents by 0.32 percentage points, education by 0.11 percentage points, fuel and lighting by 0.06 percentage points. On the other hand, the prices of a group of commodities, notably the meat and poultry group decreased by 0.38 percentage points, milk products and eggs by 0.14 percentage points, transportation by 0.15 percentage points and clothing by 0.04 percentage points.

As for the basic consumer price index for May (measured by excluding the most volatile commodities at food, fuel, light and transportation prices), it stood at 129.6 compared to 128.0 in the same month of 2018, an increase of 1.2%. On the cumulative level, the basic index of consumer prices for the first five months of this year was 129.3 compared to 127.8 compared with the same period of 2018, an increase of 1.2%.

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