which showed a 12-month increase of 0.2 percent in August.

"Global anti-inflationary pressures are starting to have an impact,'' a spokesman for the Finance Ministry said. "And the prognosis is pretty good'' for 1995.

Statistics released Friday by Government show the annual rate of inflation in the 12 months to August 1994 at 2.3 percent, a fractional increase over the 2.2 percent recorded in the previous 12-month period to July.

Of the main retail sectors, fuel and power recorded the largest relative increase -- 1.3 percent. This, the Finance Ministry said, was due largely to a jump of 1.5 percent in the cost of electricity.

An increase in beer and cigarette prices -- 1.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively -- contributed to a rise in the cost of tobacco and liquor, which together climbed 0.7 percent.

In the household appliances and services sector, a 10.5-percent increase in the cost of writing materials and a 5.1-percent rise in the price of food wraps and trash bags helped to push the entire sector up by 0.3 percent.

The sector including rent, transport and vehicles also gained by 0.2 percent.

Food costs, meanwhile, continued to go down -- in response, the Ministry said, to "nearly offsetting price changes across the spectrum of food items.'' The most notable price drops in the sector, which showed a month-over-month decrease of 0.1 percent, occurred in fresh vegetables and meat products.

Significant increases were registered in boneless cod and fresh Bermuda fish.

"This (decrease) was in spite of the rise in cost of such commodities as coffee,'' the spokesman said.

Also showing a decrease was the education, recreation and reading sector, where "declines in the cost of pet care'' pushed prices down by 0.1 percent.

Among the sectors that remained stable were health and personal care and clothing and footwear.

"I don't think there's going to be any upward inflationary movement (in the next 12-month period),'' the spokesman said in response to the figures.

"The G7 (group of industrialised countries) are certainly taking a much more robust line on inflation.

"What you see is probably what you're going to get.''