Consumer Price Index Recorded a Decline in the First Quarter

"The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015."

Consumer Price Index Recorded a Decline in the First Quarter

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015.

“This is the first time since September 2010 that the CPI of the Cayman Islands showed a negative movement,” stated the Minister for Finance and Economic Development, Honourable Marco Archer.  “It parallels the 0.1 percent CPI decline in the United States (US) during the same period. The general price movements in the two countries reflect the impact of global oil price reductions,” he further noted.

The major groups that contributed to the decrease in the CPI were restaurants and hotels (-8.2%); miscellaneous goods and services (-2.3%); and housing and utilities (-1.1%). The last category, which accounts for 2/5 of the entire CPI basket, had a significant price decline in electricity, gas and other fuels (-13.6%). In contrast, the price index for food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded a 2.9 percent increase.