Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) Reports Decrease in Year-on-Year Inflation to 5.9% in February
In a noteworthy development, the overall rate of inflation, as gauged by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) on a Year-on-Year (Y-on-Y) basis, has witnessed a decline to 5.9% in February. This marks a notable decrease compared to the previous month when the CCPI-based inflation was calculated at 6.4% for January 2024.
The latest report issued by the Department of Census & Statistics (DCS) reveals that the inflation for all items in February has shown a decrease from 200.7 to 200.6 points. This shift indicates a percentage change from 6.4% to 5.9% from January 2024.
Breaking down the figures, the Y-on-Y inflation for the Food Group was recorded at 3.5% in February, reflecting a slight increase from the 3.3% recorded in the previous month. Meanwhile, the Y-on-Y inflation for the Non-Food Group has decreased to 7.0% from 7.9% in January this year.
The CCPI serves as a crucial economic indicator designed to measure inflation, defined as the percentage change in CCPI over the year. There are two commonly used measures of inflation. The first measure is the Year-on-Year base or Point-to-Point inflation, indicating the percentage change in the CPI over the last 12 months. The second measure is Moving Average Inflation, representing the percentage difference between the average Price Index of the last 12 months and the average Price Index of the previous 12 months.
