Inflation up in February 2024

As the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.12 percent increase, the purchasing power of Ngultrum (Nu) diminished, now stands at Nu 56.4.

In February 2024, CPI rose by 0.12 percent compared to January 2024.

Within the CPI, the food category experienced a slight decrease of 0.05 percent, while the non-food category saw an increase of 0.26 percent.

Transportation costs notably rose by 0.9 percent over the month. Specifically, the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 0.07 percent, whereas alcoholic beverages and betel nuts witnessed a 0.22 percent increase. Conversely, there was a marginal decline of 0.01 percent in the housing and utilities index.

Meanwhile, as for February 2024, the purchasing power of Nu, as per the CPI report, stands at Nu 56.4 compared to December 2012.

This indicates that, Nu 100 in February 2024 holds the same value as Nu 56.4 at December 2012 prices. Over the past year, from February 2023 to February 2024, the purchasing power of Nu, as measured by CPI, has declined by 4.33 percent due to general price hikes in the economy.

On a yearly basis, CPI witnessed a 4.53 percent increase in February 2024 compared to the previous year.

Notably, the food index surged by 6.08 percent, while the non-food index saw a 3.22 percent rise. With the exception of the transport and communication sectors, all major divisions experienced index increases.

The transport index decreased by 0.98 percent, and communication saw a notable drop of 7.08 percent. Moreover, the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 6.39 percent, whereas that for alcoholic beverages and betel nuts increased by 1.94 percent.

Apart from the communication index, which decreased by 1.06 percent, all other divisions witnessed an annual CPI rise. There was a notable uptick in the indices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing and utilities, health, recreation and culture, education, as well as restaurants and hotels.

The CPI for alcoholic beverages and betel nuts surged by 3.46 percentage points, while housing and utilities saw a notable increase of 3.11 percentage points.

Health recorded a significant rise of 8.27 percentage points, followed by recreation and culture with a 4.36 percentage point increase. Conversely, transport experienced a substantial decrease in its index by 11.74 percentage points from 2022 to 2023.