Year-on-year, prices of food & non-alcoholic beverages increased by 1.2 percent in May, the most since last October, up from a 1.1 percent rise in April. Among food, cost continued to rise for: fish & seafood (0.9 percent vs 0.2 percent in April); milk & eggs (0.7 percent vs 1.9 percent); and food away from home (2.9 percent vs 3.1 percent), with cost of vegetables (4.5 percent vs 2.2 percent). Meantime, prices continued to fall for rice, bread & other cereals (-0.3 percent vs -0.4 percent); meat (-3.1 percent vs -3.6 percent); oils & fats (-1.2 percent vs -1.0 percent); sugar, jam, honey (-2.2 percent vs -2.2 percent); food products (-0.8 percent vs -0.5 percent) while fruits prices edged down (-0.1 percent vs 0.1 percent)
Also, inflation accelerated for both alcoholic beverages & tobacco (1.3 percent vs 1.2 percent) and furnishings, household equipment & routine maintenance (0.5 percent vs 0.2 percent).
On the other hand, inflation slowed for housing, water, electricity, gas, & other fuels (1.8 percent vs 2 percent); restaurants and hotels (0.6 percent vs 0.8 percent) while it was steady for education (at 1.2 percent). In contrast, cost continued to drop for: transport (-2.5 percent vs -2.6 percent); clothing and footwear (-3.2 percent, the same pace in April); miscellaneous goods & services (-2.1 percent vs -2 percent); health (-0.3 percent, the same pace in the prior month); recreation services & culture (-0.4 percent, the same pace as in the previous month), and communication (-0.9 percent vs -1.1 percent).
Core consumer prices rose 0.4 percent year-on-year in May, the least since February, softer than a 0.5 percent gain in April.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up by 0.2 percent in May, following a flat reading in April.