percent in the first three months of the year compared to the same period a year earlier.

The largest increase in the January to March period was in the education and medical group, which went up 22.4 percent, mostly due to higher school fees, the government said in releasing the figures.

Housing went up 6.5 percent from the same period last year, which was attributed to rising interest rates on mortgage payments.

Over the one-year period, transportation and communications prices increased 3.2 percent and food and household equipment went up by less than 1 percent.

The Cayman Islands is a British territory in the Caribbean.