Consumer prices contract to 5.9% in February

Consumer prices in February slowed down marginally from the previous month and the previous year, data from the Department of Census and Statistics showed.

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), the official’s preferred inflation gauge decreased to 5.9 percent in February from 6.4 percent recorded in January.

The February overview of the CCPI contracted from 200.7 to 200.6 points.

In February, annual inflation (point) in the food category increased to 3.5 percent Year-on-Year (YoY). In January 2024 it was recorded at 3.3 percent.

The CCPI Core in February increased to 177.2 from 176.2 the previous month.
The general price level has increased to 100.6 percent compared to the index reference.

Meanwhile, the annual inflation (point) in non-food category for February 2024 eased to 7.0 percent as against 7.9 percent in January 2024.

The data by DCS showed that the clothing and footwear category saw the steepest contraction with prices dropping by 5.6 percentage points. A decrease was also seen in housing, water, electricity, and gas where a reduction of 3.4 percentage points was seen.

However, prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco expanded by 3.6 percentage points, whereas education increased by 1.7 percentage points.