In August, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices was 2.4%, up from 2.3% in July, the National Statistics Office said today. The annual inflation in the Euro area was 2.2%.

The NSO noted that the highest annual inflation rates in August were recorded in Education (4.1%) and Miscellaneous goods and services (4.1%).

The lowest annual inflation rates were registered in Communication (-5.1%) and Clothing and footwear (-1.4%).

The largest upward contribution to the overall annual inflation was measured in the Restaurants and hotels Index (+0.64 percentage points), largely due to higher prices of restaurant services.

The second and third largest contributions were measured in the Food and non-alcoholic beverages Index (+0.60 percentage points) and the Transport Index (+0.41 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of vegetables and air transport services, respectively.

The downward contributions to the overall annual inflation were registered in the Communication Index (-0.18 percentage points) and the Clothing and footwear Index (-0.06 percentage points), mainly reflecting lower prices of mobile phone services and garments, respectively.

The 12-month moving average rate for August stood at 3.1%.

File photo: Gozo News/Alain Salvary

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