January Consumer Price Index: Inflation 4.5%
Consumers paid 4.5% more in January 2023 than they did a year ago for the basket of goods and services included in the Consumer Price Index [CPI].
A Government spokesperson said, “The Ministry of Economy and Labour released the January 2023 CPI from the Department of Statistics.”
“In summary, during January 2023, consumers paid 4.5 per cent more than they did a year ago for the basket of goods and services included in the CPI. This level of inflation was up from the December 2022 annual inflation rate of 4.1 per cent.
“In the twelve months to January 2023, the Transport & Foreign Travel sector increased 10.1 per cent. On average, the greatest annual increases were reported in the price of overseas accommodations [+50.4 per cent] and airfares [+19.4 per cent].
“Year-over-year, the Food sector rose 10.1 per cent. The major contributors to the annual increase in the sector were the average cost of fruit juices [+34.5 per cent], ice cream [+24.7 per cent] and frozen entrees [+15.4 per cent]. The largest year-to-year decreases were prunes [-12.7 per cent] and raisins [-10.1 per cent].
“The Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sector rose by 3.9 per cent. The average cost of pet care [+3.3 per cent] increased.
“The annual increase in the Clothing & Footwear sector was 4.4 per cent. On average, the cost of infant clothing [+24.3 per cent], watches [+18.6 per cent], men’s shoes [+10.7 per cent], and men’s underwear [+8.3 per cent] rose.
“The annual increase in the Health & Personal Care sector was 3.3 per cent. On average, the price of self-prescribed medicines and household medical supplies rose 6.9 per cent, while toiletries, cosmetics and perfumes advanced 4.6 per cent.
“Between December and January 2023, the average cost of goods and services in the CPI increased 0.4 per cent.
“Additional areas of note between December 2022 and January 2023 were as follows:
- On average, prices within the Food sector rose 0.6 per cent for the month. Consumers saw increases in the price of oranges [+12.5 per cent], eggs [+10.1 per cent], red grapes [+6.6 per cent] and ice cream [+3.7 per cent].
- The Transport & Foreign Travel sector advanced 2.7 per cent in January 2023. Increases were reported in the average cost of overseas hotel accommodations [+20.1 per cent], car repair and maintenance [+6.8 per cent] and airfares [+6.2 per cent]. In contrast, the average cost of premium fuel dipped 2.2 per cent.
- The Fuel & Power sector declined 3.9 per cent due to a 15.2 per cent decrease in the fuel adjustment clause.”
The spokesperson said, “Computational errors were found in the annual average inflation rate per cent change section of the Consumer Price Index [CPI] publications for 2018 to 2022. Corrections have been made and noted by an r [revision].
“*Note: In summary, each month, the Government measures the annual rate of inflation and the monthly rate of inflation – Annual are changes from the same month last year, and monthly are the changes from month to month. The January 2023 Consumer Price Index is available online at www.gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics.”
The full January 2023 Consumer Price Index follows below [PDF here]:
