Prices up

Consumer prices up by 3.2 percent in the first half of 2011: CRI report

August 2, 2011- The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 3.2 percent in June 2011 relative to December 2010. Figures released by the Consultation and Research Institute (CRI) showed that the index went up by 6.16 percent compared to June 2010.

The expansion in the CPI over the first half of 2011 was attributed mainly to increases of 11 percent in prices of miscellaneous goods and services, six percent in prices of transportation and telecommunications, five percent in prices of healthcare, and four percent in prices of food and beverages.

Prices of clothes and footwear declined by 4.4 percent over the same period. The cost of education remained unchanged.

Food and beverages account for 35.4 percent of the index weight. Transport and telecommunication represent 14.39 percent of the index, followed by education with 12.45 percent, healthcare with 9.82 percent, durable consumer goods with 8.18 percent, clothes and footwear with 6.55 percent, housing with 6.49 percent, personal care and other products with 4.02 percent, and recreation with 2.7 percent.