Inflation in Sri Lanka capital Colombo rises to 5.5 percent in January 2017

Jan 31, Colombo: Sri Lanka's inflation, as measured by the change in the Colombo Consumers' Price Index (CCPI) , increased to 5.5 percent in January 2017 from 4.5 percent in December 2016, the Department of Census and Statistics reported on Tuesday.

The CCPI for all items for the month of January was 116.1 recording an increase of 1.4 index points or 1.2 percent compared to the month of December 2016 for which the index was 114.7. This was due to the increase of food items by 0.46 percent and increase of non-food items by 0.81 percent.

Year-on-Year inflation of Food Group has increased from 4.1 percent in December 2016 to 4.5 percent in January 2017 and that of Non-food Group has increased from 4.5 percent to 6.0 percent during this period.

For the month of January 2017, on year to year basis, contribution to inflation by food commodities was 1.31 percent and the contribution of Non-food items was 4.25 percent.

The 12-month moving average inflation rate for the month of January 2017 was 4.3 percent. The corresponding rate for the month of December 2016 was 4.0 percent.

The Department of Census and Statistics has commenced releasing National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) from October 2015 with a time lag of 21 days. However, CCPI is released on the last working day of each month.