Today, the Minister of Economy and Labour, the Hon. Jason Hayward, JP, MP, released the February 2022 Consumer Price Index publication from the Department of Statistics.
The Minister explained, “In February 2022, consumers paid 2.5 per cent more than they did a year ago for the same basket of goods and services.”
Minister Hayward added, “The Transport & Foreign Travel sector continued to be the most significant contributor (+9.4 per cent) to the twelve-month increase in the CPI. On average, annual increases were reported in the cost of premium fuels (+13.9 per cent) and mixed fuels (+12.9 per cent).”
“The Health & Personal Care sector advanced 3.3 per cent as the annual average cost of health insurance jumped 4.7 per cent. On an annual basis, the Household Goods, Services & Supplies sector rose 1.5 per cent, as increases were reported in the average cost of dining room furniture (+30.3 per cent) and bedroom furniture (+14.7 per cent).”
“Between January 2022 and February 2022, the average cost of goods and services increased 0.4 per cent.”
Additional areas of note between January and February 2022 are as follows:
Ø The Transport & Foreign Travel sector climbed 2.2 per cent in February due to increases in the average cost of premium fuels (+4.9 per cent), mixed fuels (+4.6 per cent) and cars (+0.8 per cent).
Ø On average, food prices advanced 0.6 per cent in February. Among the main items contributing to the increase were eggs (+3.1 per cent), fresh milk (+1.9 per cent) and spices (+1.6 per cent).
Ø The Household Goods, Services & Supplies sector increased by 0.1 per cent for the month. Price increases were reported in the average cost of washers & dryers (+5.3 per cent), stoves (+4.9 per cent) and refrigerators (+2.8 per cent).
Ø The combined increases in the average cost of pleasure boats (+3.5 per cent), personal computers (+1.3 per cent) and televisions (+0.7 per cent) led to a 0.4 per cent increase in Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sector.
*Note: In summary, the Government measures the annual rate of inflation and the monthly rate of inflation each month. Annual rates are changes from the same month last year, and monthly rates are the changes from the previous month. The February 2022 Consumer Price Index is available online at www.gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics