Year-on-year price increases were recorded in December of 2013 for electricity, gas and water (7.3 percent); housing (5.9 percent); meals bought away from home (4.7 percent); miscellaneous services (4.6 percent); food (excluding meals bought away from home) (3.3 percent); miscellaneous goods (2.7 percent); transport (2.6 percent); clothing and footwear (2.2 percent) and alcoholic drinks and tobacco (1.4 percent).
On the other hand, price decrease was recorded for durable goods (-3.8 percent).
A Government spokesman said for 2013 as a whole, underlying inflation averaged 4.0 percent, matching the Government's earlier forecast and down from 4.7 percent in 2012. Looking ahead, the still-low imported inflation and the feed-through of the milder increases in fresh-letting residential rentals in 2013 should help contain the upside risks to inflation in the near term.