Inflation edges to 4.1% from 4% a month according NSO Report

inflation edged upwards in September to 4.1% from 4% a month earlier, with food prices registering the highest annual increase, the National Statistics Office said on Tuesday.

The Retail Price Index (RPI) showed that food prices increased by 8.8%. Food excluding restaurant services and takeaways registered an annual rate of 9.5% while restaurant services and takeaways registered an annual rate of 6.7%.

The second-highest annual increase was registered in housing (8.1%).

The lowest annual inflation rates were registered in transport and communication (-2.1%), and water, electricity, gas, and fuels that registered no movement.

The government continues to subsidize utility bills, fuels, and gas thus keeping prices stable.

The NSO said the largest upward impact on annual inflation in September was registered in the Food Index (+1.89 percentage points), largely due to higher prices of takeaways

. The second and third largest impacts were measured in the Housing Index (+0.64 points) and the Other Goods and Services Index (+0.48 points), mainly on account of higher prices of house maintenance services and insurance, respectively.

A downward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Transport and Communication Index (-0.45 points), mainly reflecting lower prices of land transport services.