Jun 2010 Financial News

Inflation continues to rise

Jun 01, 2010

Inflation has continued on the rise to reach 7.3 per cent as of April, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago said yesterday.

This upward trend has been consistent over a four-month period for 2010-with April showing the largest recorded jump since January 1990.

According to the most recent data from the Central Statistical Office (CSO), headline inflation, measured by the 12-month increase in the Index of Retail Prices, rose to 7.3 per cent from 5.1 per cent in March.

On a monthly basis, headline inflation increased by 3.2 per cent in April, compared to an average increase of 1.1 per cent for the first three months of 2010.

Food takes the blame again as the main contributor to higher headline inflation.

In the 12 months to April, prices rose by 12.7 per cent from 6.9 per cent in March and from a low-point of 2.7 per cent January.

’Food prices rose by a brisk 6.2 per cent during the month of April led by increases in the prices of domestic produce, largely fruits and vegetables,’ the CSO said in a release yesterday.

’On a 12-month basis, the prices of fruit and vegetables were respectively 60.2 per cent and 9.4 per cent higher than in April 2009. The intense drought, which affected domestic food crop production over the past three months, has been mainly responsible for the increase in local food prices.’

Core inflation, which filters out the impact of food prices, edged up to 4.4 per cent in the 12 months to April, from 4.1 per cent in March.

The rise is due largely to increases in the transportation and recreation and culture sub-indices, all of which account for one-third of the weight in the core index.


Source:
Trinidad Express
Saturday May 29th 2010

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/nart?id=161682608&weba=NWSBusiness