Today, the Ministry for the Cabinet Office released the June 2021 Consumer Price Index (CPI) publication from the Department of Statistics.

In summary, during June 2021 consumers paid 1.2 % more than they did in June 2020 for the basket of goods and services.

The Transport & Foreign Travel sector continues to be the largest contributor to the 12-month increase in the CPI (+7.7 %), as the average cost of airfares increased for a third consecutive month, rising 25.2 %.

Meanwhile, the Health & Personal Care sector and the Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sectors also impacted strongly on the annual rate of inflation, as price shifts in these segments measured 2.7 % and 2.4 %, respectively.

Between May 2021 and June 2021 the average cost of goods and services declined 0.3 %.

Additional areas of note between May 2021 and June 2021 include:

Ø  The Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sector moved up 0.9 % in June. The average cost of pleasure boats rose 13.8 %.

Ø  The Health & Personal Care sector increased 0.7 % for the month. The average cost of health insurance rose 1.0 %.

Ø  The Food sector edged up 0.5 % for the month. Among the items contributing to the rise was the average cost of spare ribs (+12.7 %), cantaloupes (+14.1 %) and green peppers (+11.8 %).  In addition, the average cost of restaurant dining moved up 1.0 %.

Ø  The Fuel & Power sector dropped 14.1 % as the average cost of electricity fell 14.7 % in June.

Ø  The Rent sector was down 0.3 % as the average cost of properties not subject to rent control slid 0.7 %.

The June 2021 Consumer Price Index is available at www.gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics.