March 2019 Inflation at 0.11%, Food is the Highest Contributor

The largest contributor to inflation in March 2019, reaching 0.04%, was the group of expenditures on processed food, beverages, cigarettes, and tobacco. The second largest contributor to inflation was the group of expenditures on housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel, with a contribution of 0.03%, as shown in the graph below.

Inflation occurred due to a general increase in prices, indicated by the rise in most expenditure group indices, such as processed food, beverages, cigarettes, and tobacco (0.21%); housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel (0.11%); and clothing (0.23%).

For information, March 2019 experienced inflation of 0.11% with a Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 135.87. The year-to-date inflation rate (January-March) 2019 was 0.35%, and the year-on-year inflation rate (March 2019 compared to March 2018) was 2.48% (YoY).