Brunei: Consumer price index up 1.1 per cent in April

• Jul 01, 2021

The consumer price index (CPI) in April 2021 increased by 1.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) compared to April 2020. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 1.5 per cent. Meanwhile, non-food prices increased by one per cent.

The CPI increase was largely attributed to increases in the prices and costs of transport (7.2 per cent); communication (1.8 per cent); and food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.5 per cent). However, this was moderated by the decrease in prices and costs of clothing and footwear (10.9 per cent); furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (2.8 per cent); and miscellaneous goods and services (0.5 per cent).

The increase in prices of transport was largely attributed to the rise in prices of motor cars followed by air tickets.

The rising cost of communication was due to, among others, telephone and telefax equipment, such as new handphones being introduced in the market.

Moreover, the increase in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages was due to the hike in food prices such as beef and buffalo; cooking oil; and vegetables. The increase in the prices of meat and vegetables was, among others, due to increase in cost of import, supply chain disruption following the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the region, as well as uncertain weather conditions.

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI in April 2021 decreased by 0.5 per cent compared to March 2021. The food and non-alcoholic beverages index decreased by 0.9 per cent while the non-food index decreased by 0.4 per cent.

The CPI is a measure of price changes of goods and services paid by the consumer in a specified period and compiled on a monthly basis. The list of goods and services in the CPI is based on the average expenditure per household from the Household Expenditure Survey (HES).

The CPI full report is available from Department of Economic Planning and Statistics’ (JPES) website: www.deps.gov.bn.

Source: https://borneobulletin.com.bn/consumer-price-index-up-1-1-per-cent-in-april/