In March, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicated a 0.5% increase in the prices of goods and services for personal consumption compared to February, according to Monstat’s latest data.
Year-on-year, consumer prices showed a significant rise of 5.5% compared to the same month last year.
Key contributors to the monthly inflation rate included hikes in prices across various sectors such as telecommunications, clothing, fuel, meat, vegetables, vehicle maintenance, cultural services, and routine household maintenance items.
For the period between January and March 2024, consumer prices saw an average increase of 4.7% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
Analyzing consumer spending categories, March witnessed a rise in communication costs by 4.4%, followed by increases in recreation and cultural expenses by 1.1%, clothing, footwear, and transportation costs by 1%, and household maintenance items by 0.5%. Additionally, there were modest increases in other goods and services (0.5%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.2%), and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (0.2%). However, prices decreased by 0.6% in the category of restaurants and hotels.
Despite these fluctuations, prices of other products and services remained relatively stable.
