In February the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices edged up to 115.93 from 115.89 in January and the annual rate of inflation stood at 1.8 per cent, which was down from 2.4% in January.

The National Statistics Office has said that in February, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices went up marginally over the previous month. This primarily reflected an increase of 1.9 per cent in the Clothing and Footwear Index due to seasonally higher-priced garments. The Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages Index edged up by 0.4 per cent, mainly due to higher prices for fruit.

A similar increase was registered in the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Index due to an upward movement in the price of wine. Higher prices for mobile phones resulted in a 0.2 per cent increase in the Communication Index.

The Health Index edged up by 0.1 per cent on account of higher fees for medical and paramedical services. A similar movement was recorded in the Miscellaneous Goods and Services Index, mainly on account of higher fees charged by retirement homes.

The Transport Index went down by 0.7 per cent, mainly due to lower prices for new motor cars. Seasonally cheaper accommodation services resulted in a decrease of 0.3 per cent in the Restaurants and Hotels Index.

The Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels Index went down by 0.2 per cent, mainly on account of lower gas prices. Discounted book prices caused the Recreation and Culture Index to go down by 0.1 per cent.

In February, the twelve-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 3.2 per cent

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