ANNUAL PRICE INFLATION RATE AT 5.4%
For the first quarter of 2023, the RPI has been measured at 114.8 (Chart 1). This is an increase of 5.4% from a year ago, when the RPI was 109.0, and it means that retail prices have, on average, increased by 5.4% over the twelve-month period. This annual inflation rate for Q1 2023 is a slight fall from the annual rate measured in the previous quarter (Q4 2022), when it was 5.7%.
Chart 1. St Helena Retail Price Index Q1 2016 to Q1 2023 (Q1 2018=100)
The index uses 203 representative items to measure price changes in nine different categories of household spending; since a year ago, 89 items increased in price, 19 items decreased in price, and the price of 95 items remained unchanged.
Notable changes in prices over the past three months include petrol and diesel, which fell from £2.01 and £2.16 a litre in Q4 2022, to £1.90 and £2.01 a litre in Q1 2023. The highest increase over the last quarter was in the Alcohol and Tobacco category, where prices rose on average by 3.4%. Food prices also rose by 1.6% on average compared to Q4 2022, contributing to a 6.1% annual price inflation rate for Food, the highest since Q4 2017.
The full Statistical Bulletin and a detailed data file can be found on the St Helena Government website at www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/the-economy/.
Please note that the Q1 2023 inflation rate calculations do not include any changes to prices that may have occurred since the arrival of the Maria da Paz cargo ship in late March. Where applicable, these will be included in the Q2 2023 calculations, scheduled to be released in July 2023.
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SHG
21 April 2023
