December Consumer Price Index: Inflation 2.4%
The Ministry of Economy and Labour released the December 2023 CPI from the Department of Statistics today.
A Government spokesperson said, “In summary, consumers paid 2.4 per cent more in December 2023 than a year ago for the basket of goods and services included in the Consumer Price Index [CPI]. This level of inflation declined 0.7 percentage points from the November 2023 annual inflation rate. Some highlights for December 2022 to December 2023 include:
- The Rent sector increased 2.7 per cent.
- The Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sector advanced 3.6 per cent.
- The Food sector increased 2.9 per cent.
- The Health sector increased 2.5 per cent.
- The Household Goods, Services & Supplies sector rose 1.6 per cent.
“Between November 2023 and December 2023, the average cost of goods and services decreased.
“0.5 per cent. Additional areas of note between November and December 2023 were as follows:
- The Rent sector increased 0.5 per cent.
- The Household Goods, Services & Supplies sector rose 0.6 per cent.
- The Health & Personal Care sector increased 0.2 per cent.
- The Transport & Foreign Travel sector decreased 5.1 per cent.
The full December 2023 Consumer Price Index follows below [PDF here]:
Interesting timing. Let’s release this little truth nugget of reality on Bermuda Day so no one notices how bad things really are here on the SS Bermuda. (Or rather, how bad they WERE back in Dec and only getting worse.)
“In summary, consumers paid 2.4 per cent more in December 2023 than a year ago for the basket of goods and services included in the Consumer Price Index [CPI].”
How interesting. Once again, the rise in the Bermuda Consumer Price Index is less than that in the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports CPI inflation as being 3.4% in December 2023.
That means either Bermuda is not using the internationally recognsied “basket of goods and services” or the cost of goods is coming down between Port Elizabeth N.J. and the Hamilton docks.