Food prices increase by almost 10% and fuel up 15%
Food prices surged by almost 10 per cent with fuel and power costs increasing by more than 15 per cent, latest inflation figures released last night showed.
However, in a statement, the Ministry of Economy and Labour said that overall the cost of a basket of goods and services covered by the Consumer Price Index had risen by 4.7 per cent in August compared with the same time last year. Inflation in July was 4.5 per cent.
The food sector saw a 9.5 per cent increase – including a 21.9 per cent hike in the cost of fruit juices, a 21.1 per cent increase in the price of bread and a 20.7 per cent hike in the cost of frozen entrées.
Meanwhile, heightened fuel costs were blamed for a 15.2 per cent increase in the fuel and power sector.
A government spokesman said: “Compared to August 2021, the fuel adjustment cost for 700 residential kilowatts hours of electricity advanced 49.2 per cent. In addition, the average cost of propane fuel increased 11.9 per cent.
“In summary, during August 2022, consumers paid 4.7 per cent more than they did a year ago for the basket of goods and services included in the CPI.
“This level of inflation increased 0.2 percentage points from the July 2022 annual inflation rate of 4.5 per cent.”
The transport and foreign travel sector increased by 9.1 per cent, while the education, recreation, entertainment and reading sector rose by 4.8 per cent.
“The average cost of televisions and pleasure boats rose 18 per cent and 13.1 per cent, respectively,” the spokesman noted.
The food sector increased 1 per cent between July and August, with notable increases in the price of tenderloin (8.4 per cent), frozen entrées (3.4 per cent) and soft drinks (2.9 per cent) during the month.
Household goods, services and supplies rose by 0.5 per cent during the month, while the education, recreation, entertainment and reading sector increased by 0.4 per cent.
Tobacco and liquor costs increased by 0.6 per cent during the month, while the cost for transport and foreign travel fell by 0.9 per cent between July and August.
The August 2022 Consumer Price Index is available online at www.gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics and can be seen under related media.
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