August Consumer Price Index: Inflation 4.7%

November 23, 2022

Consumers paid 4.7% more in August 2022 than they did a year ago for the basket of goods and services included in the Consumer Price Index [CPI], according to the August 2022 CPI from the Department of Statistics.

A Government spokesperson said, “In summary, during August 2022, consumers paid 4.7% 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%.

“The Food sector was the largest contributor to the twelve-month increase in the CPI [+9.5%]. On average, increases were reported in the cost of fruit juices [+21.9%], bread [+21.1%], frozen entrees [+20.7%] and delicatessen meals [+7.2%].

“The Transport & Foreign Travel sector impacted the annual rate of inflation with a year-over-year increase of 9.1%. On average, annual increases were reported in the price of overseas hotel stays [+53.7%], airfares [+14.3%], car fuel [+4.9%] and new cars [+2.2%].

“The Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sector also impacted the annual rate of inflation [+4.8%].

“The average cost of televisions and pleasure boats rose 18.0% and 13.1%, respectively.

“Rising fuel costs placed upward pressure on the annual inflation rate for the Fuel and Power sector [+15.2%]. Compared to August 2021, the fuel adjustment cost for 700 residential kilowatts hours of electricity advanced 49.2%. In addition, the average cost of propane fuel increased 11.9%.

“Between July 2022 and August 2022, the average cost of goods and services in the CPI rose 0.2%.

“Additional areas of note between July 2022 and August 2022 were as follows:

  • The Food sector increased 1.0% in August. Notable price changes were observed for tenderloin [+8.4%], frozen entrees [+3.4%] and soft drinks [+2.9%]. In addition, delicatessen meals increased 0.8%.
  • The Household Goods, Services & Supplies sector rose 0.5% for the month. Consumers experienced higher prices in the average cost of air conditioners [+38.3%], water delivery [+13.0%] and refrigerators and freezers [+4.8%].
  • The Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sector moved up 0.4%. The average cost of pleasure boats and video disc players increased 7.3% and 3.5%, respectively.
  • The Tobacco & Liquor sector advanced 0.6%. Price increases were recorded for beer [+1.7%], wines [+0.6%] and spirits [+0.4%].
  • The Transport & Foreign Travel sector lost ground in August, declining 0.9%. The average cost of airfares and motorcycles slipped 9.4% and 0.8%, respectively.

*Note: In summary, each month, the Government measures the annual rate of inflation and the monthly rate of inflation – annual rates are changes from the same month last year, and monthly rates are the changes from the previous month. The August 2022 Consumer Price Index is available online at www.gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics.

The full August 2022 Consumer Price Index follows below [PDF here]:

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Comments (6)

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  1. Update says:

    When was the last time the items in the basket of goods and services has been update? I think it is time for the gov to review the sugar tax, any thing that has drop of sugar customs is charging 75% as per the law. The gov is adding to the cost and how are people to survive.

  2. Update says:

    When was the last time the basket of goods and services was updated To reflect 2022

    The gov has added to the increase in cost because of the sugar tax. Anything that has a drop of sugar it is taxed at 75%.

    How are folks going to survive this as once things go up they don’t come down.

  3. Ringmaster says:

    This Department is a total waste of money and should be closed. The inflation rate churned out is a joke and bears no resemblance to actual.

  4. Sandgrownan says:

    4.7% ?

    Someone is lying or incompetent.

    • Joe Bloggs says:

      The 4.7% figure is locally generated inflation. It is on top of the 7%+ inflation rate of the countries we import most of our stuff from (U.S., U.K. and Canada).

      In truth, we are in double-digit inflation just as we were in the 1970s and early 1980s.

  5. Bright & Early says:

    Are you kidding me. Have any of you been shopping recently. Frozen goods have increased by $2 in the past month e.g. Frozen onion rings from $7.50 to $9.50 approx. Roman noodles increased from 65c to 1.20 almost double since the pandemic. Can you believe it. My husband loves Roman noodles. I do shop at different stores so I can compare prices and some items are cheaper and some more expensive depending where you shop. Our Government should do something about it?