SIB Releases Consumer Price Index for October 2015

The Consumer Price Index for the month of October 2015 has been released by the Statistical Institute of Belize.  Those figures, as well as data pertaining to inflation rates by municipality were all made available during an extended press conference this morning.  Last month’s records indicate that the prices of goods and services purchased by the average Belizean family were typically lower than in October 2014.  Similarly, the all-items CPI stood at zero point nine percent, down from the same month last year.  Statistician Angelita Campbell explains the reasons behind the decrease.

Angelita Campbell

Angelita Campbell, Statistician, S.I.B.

“The diagram in front of you illustrates the inflation rates by category.  When we look at the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels category we see a marginal increase of zero point zero four percent.  Within that category we have housing increasing, however the increase in housing was offset by a decrease in electricity of roughly about five percent, also a decrease in butane gas of roughly twenty-seven percent.  We look at the food and non-alcoholic beverages category, we see a slight decline of zero point two percent.  Within that category however, we had a marginal increase in the food index alone of zero point zero four percent.  That was offset by a decline in the alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics category.  Within the food index we saw beef going up by roughly twenty-five percent.  There was also an increase in pork, eggs and fruits.  Those increases were offset by a decline of red kidney beans of roughly thirty-two percent, also a decline in vegetables.  The transport category, as you already know from the beginning of this year, has been declining.  We’re a decline of minus seven point three percent.  As also noted before, there is a decline in the price of fuel when compared to last year same period.  The decline of petroleum was about twenty-three percent.  We had regular gasoline going down by twenty-eight percent and we had diesel going down by roughly twenty-nine percent.  Within all other categories we saw increases mainly in health and insurance.”