Geostat: Price changes for food, alcohol, transport, healthcare influenced inflation rate

The National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat) reports that in October 2017 the monthly inflation rate amounted to 0.8 percent.

Compared to the same month of the previous year the Consumer Price Index change (annual inflation rate) posted a 6.4 percent increase.

The monthly inflation rate was mainly influenced by price changes for the following groups:

•  In the reporting period prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased 1.6 percent and, correspondingly, contributed 0.46 percentage points to the overall CPI change. Prices were comparably higher for the following subgroups: vegetables (11.5 percent), milk, cheese and eggs (3.2 percent), oils and fats (1.1 percent). Meanwhile, prices for fruit and grapes went down (-3.0 percent);
•  Clothing and footwear: prices were 6.5 percent higher, which had an upward effect of 0.19 percentage points on monthly inflation. Prices increased both for footwear (12.0 percent) and clothing (3.6 percent).

The annual inflation rate was mainly influenced by price changes for the following groups:

• Food and non-alcoholic beverages: prices increased 7.4 percent contributing 2.21 percentage points to the annual inflation. Prices were up for the following subgroups: vegetables (28.4 percent), fruit and grapes (13.7 percent), milk, cheese and eggs (11.7 percent), meat (9.1 percent), oils and fats (7.6 percent);
•  Transport: prices in the group increased 14.7 percent, contributing 1.83 percentage points to the annual inflation. The prices were up for operation of personal transport equipment (19.4 percent),   purchase of vehicles (12.7 percent) and transport services (5.1 percent);
•  Alcoholic beverages and tobacco: prices increased 17.6 percent, with a relevant contribution of 1.13 percentage points to the overall index growth. Prices within the group were higher both for tobacco (37.8 percent) and alcoholic beverages (1.2 percent);
•  Health: prices were up 5.8 percent, which resulted in a 0.5 percentage point contribution to the overall annual inflation. Prices increased for subgroups of medical products, appliances and equipment (10.7 percent) and out-patient services (6.2 percent).