Colombo’s consumer price inflation drops to 0.5% in August

The overall rate of inflation as measured by the Colombo Consumers Price Index (CCPI) on a Y-on-Y basis has decreased to 0.5% in August 2024 compared to the 2.4% calculated for the month of July 2024, according to the latest data released by Sri Lanka’s Department of Census and Statistics.

The CCPI for all items for the month of August 2024 was 191.1 and it records a decrease of 3.6 index points compared to July 2024, for which the index was 194.7. 

The overall rate of inflation as measured by CCPI on a Y-on-Y basis is 0.5% in August 2024, the report said. 

The CCPI for all items for the month of August 2024 was 191.1 and it records a decrease of 3.6 index points or 1.85 per cent compared to the month of July 2024 for which the index was 194.7. This represents a decrease in expenditure value by Rs 3304.55 in the “Market Basket”.

The month-on-month change in CCPI from July 2024 to August 2024 was contributed by a decrease in Food items by 0.64% and a decrease in Non-Food items by 1.21% respectively, it said.

The overall rate of inflation as measured by the CCPI on a Y-on-Y basis is 0.5% in August 2024 and Y-on-Y inflation calculated for the month of July 2024 was 2.4%.

The Y-on-Y inflation of the Food Group decreased to 0.8% in August 2024 from 1.5% in July 2024 and the Y-on-Y inflation of Non-Food Group decreased to 0.4% in August 2024 from 2.8% in July 2024.

For the month of August 2024, on a Y-on-Y basis, the contribution to inflation by food commodities was 0.25%.

The CCPI is an economic indicator constructed to measure inflation which is defined as a 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 the last 12 months & the average Price Index of the previous 12 months).