Today, the Minister of Economy and Labour, the Hon. Jason Hayward, JP, MP, released the July 2022 Consumer Price Index (attached) publication from the Department of Statistics.

The Minister explained, “Due to an inaccuracy in compiling the Fuel and Power sector of the Consumer Price Index, readers are encouraged to review the old and new series for the All-Items Index and the Fuel & Power sector at gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics. Also, in alignment with the United Nations Practical Guide to Producing Consumer Price Indices, the Department of Statistics does not revise previously published inflation rates. As such, the new indexes have been provided for “indicative” purposes only. Furthermore, this new series is published following the United Nations’ recommended method of informing users what the All-Items inflation rate would have been if revisions to the Fuel and Power sector had been made.”

“Readers will find that comparisons between the old and new index numbers are presented with month-to-month percentage changes, year-over-year percentage changes and an absolute change table. This information shows the absolute differences between old and new index numbers. The technical note and the old and new indexes are available at gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics.

Minister Hayward continued, “In summary, during July 2022, consumers paid 4.5 per cent more than they did a year ago for the basket of goods and services included in the CPI. This level of inflation decreased by 0.2 percentage points from the June 2022 annual inflation rate of 4.7 per cent.

“The Food sector was the most significant contributor to the twelve-month increase in the CPI (+9.0 per cent).  On average, gains were reported in the cost of bread (+20.7 per cent), potatoes (+23.2 per cent) and fruit juices (+18.4 per cent).

“The Transport & Foreign Travel sector impacted the annual inflation rate with a year-over-year increase of +8.0 per cent.  On average, annual increases were reported in the price of overseas hotel stays (+34.2 per cent) and airfares (+17.5 per cent).

“The Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading sectors also strongly impacted the annual rate of inflation (+4.4 per cent). The average cost of pet care and upkeep rose 2.6 per cent.

“Year-over-year, the Health & Personal Care sector was up 4.7 per cent. The average price of self-prescribed medicines and household medical supplies (+6.1 per cent) and toiletries, cosmetics and perfumes (+3.5 per cent) reported increases.

“Between June 2022 and July 2022, the average cost of goods and services in the CPI rose 0.4 per cent.

“Additional areas of note between June 2022 and July 2022 were as follows:

Ø  The Food sector rose 1.1 per cent for July. Increases were reported in the average cost of bread (+10.5 per cent), pineapples (+7.4 per cent) and fruit juices (+5.7 per cent).

Ø  The Clothing & Footwear sector increased 2.1 per cent in response to increases in the average cost of watches (+15.8 per cent), women’s skirts and shorts (+12.9 per cent), men’s shoes (+10.7 per cent), men’s jackets (+5.7 per cent) and boy’s shirts and pants (+4.7 per cent).

Ø  The Fuel & Power sector was up 1.5 per cent as the fuel adjustment clause increased by 6.5 per cent in July.”

*Note: In summary, each month, the Government measures the annual rate of inflation and the monthly rate of inflation - annual rates are changes from the same month last year, and monthly rates are the changes from the previous month. The July 2022 Consumer Price Index is available online at www.gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics