June national inflation up on higher food prices

• Core inflation accelerates to 4.4%

Sri Lanka’s countrywide inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (YoY) change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), accelerated to 6.3 percent in June 2020, from 5.2 percent a month ago.

This was mainly driven by the monthly increase in the prices of items in the food category. Accordingly, the YoY food inflation increased to 13.6 percent in June 2020, from 11.1 percent in May 2020, while the YoY non-food inflation remained unchanged at 0.8 percent. 

The change in the NCPI measured on an annual average basis increased to 5.6 percent in June 2020, from 5.2 percent a month ago. 

The monthly change of the NCPI recorded at 1.4 percent in June 2020, mainly due to the increases observed in the prices of items in the food category.  Accordingly, within the food category, the prices of seven food items, including vegetables, sugar, fresh fish, eggs and rice, increased significantly during the month. Meanwhile, core inflation increased to 4.4 percent in June 2020, from 3.7 percent in May 2020, while the annual average core inflation decreased to 4.6 percent in June 2020, from 4.8 percent a month ago.