The Central Statistics Office released its most recent data today, showing that the annual rate of inflation decreased to 7.7% in March from 8.5% in February. This is the lowest level in 11 months..
The most significant increases in the year were seen in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels which was up 20.8% and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, which rose by 13.1%. Increased electricity (+62.7%) and gas (+85.9%) costs, along with higher mortgage interest repayments (+35.3%) are reflected in the yearly growth of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels.
The annual change in Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages costs reflects a rise in prices across a range of products such as sugar (+36.8%), frozen fish (+26.9%), fresh whole milk (+24.3%), butter (+21.0%), and eggs (+20.0%) compared with March 2022.
Education (-6.3%) was the only division to show a decrease when compared with March 2022.
Consumer prices in March rose by 1.1% in the month. During March 2022, prices rose by 1.9% in the month. The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Transport (+2.0%) and Restaurants & Hotels (+1.9%). Transport increased primarily due to higher prices for airfares.
Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.2%) and Communications (-0.2%) were the only divisions to show a decrease when compared with February 2023.