Prices and Imports Up, Exports Down
The prices of consumer goods went up by almost one percent in the month of January. That’s according to the Statistical Institute of Belize. The SIB released its quarterly figures today, including the Consumer Price Index which shows an increase of zero point nine percent in the cost of regularly purchased goods and services when compared to January 2017. During that same month, the transport sector recorded an overall increase of five point six percent, attributed to an increase in the cost of fuel and lubricants. Premium gasoline shot up by one dollar and forty-five cents, from ten dollars and twelve cents to eleven dollars and forty-five cents. Regular went up by three point four percent, from nine dollars and ninety-six cents to ten dollars and twenty-nine cents. The cost of diesel also went up to ten dollars per gallon, up from nine dollars and twelve cents. The External Trade Bulletin shows an increase of five point nine percent in imports, domestic exports on the other hand are down by twenty-five percent.