Inflation stagnant

The Country’s inflation, as measured by the change in the Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) remained unchanged at 4.0 percent in October 2020 from the previous month, the Department of Census and Statistics reported Thursday.

The CCPI for all items for the month of October 2020 marginally increased to 136.5 from 136.3 in September 2020.

For the month of October 2020, on a year-to-year basis, contribution to inflation by food commodities was 2.97 percent. The contribution of Non-Food items was 0.94 percent.

Year on Year inflation of Food Group has decreased from 11.5 percent in September 2020 to 10.0 percent in October 2020 while that of Non-food Group has increased from 0.9 percent in September 2020 to 1.3 percent in October 2020.

The moving average inflation rate for the month of October 2020 was 4.6 percent. The corresponding rate for the month of September 2020 was 4.7 percent.

The Census and Statistics Department noted that the data collection by personal visit for the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) program was challenging due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation of the country since the 2nd week of October 2020.

Data that was previously collected by personal visits were collected by phone from outlets which were open in areas where curfew was not imposed.