The consumer price index which measures inflation increased by 17.93 per cent (year-on-year) in May 2021.
The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed in its Consumer Price Index report for May which was released on Tuesday.
This is 0.19 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in April 2021 (18.12 per cent).
Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index.
On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.01 per cent in May 2021. This is 0.04 percentage points higher than the rate recorded in April 2021 (0.97 per cent).
The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending May 2021 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 15.50 per cent, showing a 0.46 per cent point rise from 15.04 per cent recorded in April 2021.
The urban inflation rate increased by 18.51 per cent (year-on-year) in May 2021 from 18.68 per cent recorded in April 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased by 17.36 per cent in May 2021 from 17.57 per cent in April 2021.
On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.04 per cent in May 2021, up by 0.05 percentage points compared to the rate recorded in April 2021 (0.99), while the rural index rose by 0.98 per cent in May 2021, up by 0.03 points compared to the rate that was recorded in April 2021 (0.95 per cent).
The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index is 16.09 per cent in May 2021. This is higher than 15.63 per cent reported in April 2021, while the corresponding rural inflation rate in May 2021 is 14.94 per cent compared to 14.48 per cent recorded in April 2021.
