The upward pressure came from: housing (+4 percent); meals bought away from home (+4.1 percent); food (excluding meals bought away from home) (+4.2 percent); miscellaneous goods (+0.9 percent); miscellaneous services (+1.3 percent), alcoholic drinks and tobacco (+1.0 percent). In contrast, the downward pressure came from: electricity, gas and water (-4.7 percent from -10.1 percent in September); durable goods prices (-5.8 percent); and clothing and footwear cost (-1.2 percent). As for transport, the Composite CPI fell by 0.5 percent.
On a monthly basis, the composite consumer price index increased by 1.8 percent, from a 2.6 percent growth in the previous month.
Looking ahead, inflation should remain contained in the near term given the receding external price pressures and modest growth pace of the local economy, a Government spokesman said.