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The Cayman Islands’ Consumer Price Report: June 2011 Released

"Recent upsurges in charges for gas and electricity have pushed the general price level in the Cayman Islands as measured by the Consumer Price Index"

Recent upsurges in charges for gas and electricity have pushed the general price level in the Cayman Islands as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) by 1.0% in June 2011 as compared to June 2010. This was the highest inflation rate recorded since December 2008.

⫿The inflation in the second quarter is traced primarily to the higher cost of petrol which pulled up the average spending for transportation by 13.3 percent,??? explained the Hon. Premier and Minister of Finance, Mr. McKeeva Bush. ⫿In addition, the cost of electricity, gas and other household fuels also increased by 23.8 percent,??? he added.

The sharp increases in energy prices were significantly tempered by continuing declines in housing rentals during the period as compared to a year ago.

With regard to food prices, these increased overall at a benign rate of 1.6 percent. However, some food categories exhibited significant increases such as mineral water, soda drinks, fruits and vegetables juices (7.6%), meats and meat products (6.2%), fish and seafood (5.7%) and food products not elsewhere classified (4.0%). These were partially offset by declines for vegetables (-12.5%) and fruits (-4.8%).

The Hon. Premier and Minister of Finance further noted that the second quarter 2011 CPI increased by 1.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011 as the following divisions posted strong positive changes: transportation (5.0%), communication (3.1%) food and alcoholic beverages (1.8%), housing and utility (1.4%) and health (1.3%).