The overall rate of inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) on Year-on-Year basis has increased to 2.4% in July 2024, compared to 1.7%% in June 2024, according to the Department of Census and Statistics.

The CCPI for all items for the month of July 2024 was 194.7 and it records a decrease of 0.9 index points or 0.44 percentage compared to the month of June 2024 for which the index was 195.6. This represents a decrease in expenditure value by Rs. 788.98 in the “Market Basket.”

The overall rate of inflation as measured by the CCPI on Y-on-Y basis is 2.4% in July 2024 and Y-on-Y inflation calculated for the month of June 2024 was 1.7%. 

The Y-on-Y inflation of Food Group increased to 1.5% in July 2024 from 1.4% in June 2024 and the Y-on-Y inflation of Non Food Group increased to 2.8% in July 2024 from 1.8% in June 2024.

The month-on-month change was contributed by an increase in Food items by 0.03% and decrease in Non Food items by 0.47% respectively, the report said.

The CCPI is an economic indicator constructed to measure inflation which is defined as percentage change in CCPI over the year. 

There are two measures of inflation in general use. One measure is Year on Year base or Point to Point inflation (The percentage change in the CPI during the last 12 months). 

The other measure is Moving Average Inflation (The percentage difference between the average Price Index of last 12 months & the average Price Index of previous 12 months).