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Main points

• - In March, the annual rate of inflation as measured by the RPI (Retail Price Index) was 4.43 percent, up from the 4.22 percent in February 2022.

• - The 12-month moving average rate for March stood at 2.46 per cent.

• - The largest upward impact on annual inflation was measured in the Food Index (+1.74 percentage points)

Price changes and effects on inflation 

The highest annual inflation rates in March 2022 were registered in Housing (9.75 percent) and Food (8.10 percent). On the other hand, the lowest annual inflation rates were registered in Water, electricity, gas and fuels (0.00 per cent) and Clothing and footwear (0.40 percent).

The impacts on the annual inflation rate by the 10 main groups. An impact is a measure showing the change in inflation as a result of the inclusion of an index. Such an impact takes into account both the weight and the annual rate of inflation by group.

In March 2022, the largest upward impact on annual inflation was registered in the Food Index (+1.74 percentage points), largely due to higher prices of vegetables. The second and third largest impacts were measured in the Housing Index (+0.77 percentage points) and the Transport and communication Index (+0.43 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of house maintenance services and motor vehicles respectively. On the other hand, no downward impacts on annual inflation were registered for the month of March.

In March, the Housing Index registered the highest annual inflation rate of 9.75 per cent, of which Rent registered an annual rate of 3.45 per cent, Materials for house maintenance registered an annual rate of 10.74 per cent and Services for house maintenance registered an annual rate of 10.83 per cent.

The Water, electricity, gas and fuels Index registered the lowest annual inflation rate of 0.00 percent, since the prices of all subcomponents remained unchanged.

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY NSO

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