Consumer Price Index for the month of February 2023
The CPI for February 2023 is 107.59, an increase of 0.8% compared to the index of January 2023 (106.69).
The percentage change of the CPI over the last twelve (12) months (February 2022 to February 2023) is 7.1, an increase of 3.6 percentage points (ppts) compared to the percentage change for the same period of last year (3.5%).
The period average (last 24 months) percentage change of the CPI for the periods February 2021 to February 2022 and February 2022 to February 2023 is 6.1%, an increase of 4.4 ppts compared to the period average percentage change over the periods February 2020 to February 2021 and February 2021 to February 2022 (1.7%).
During this month, eight (8) of the twelve (12) sectors registered increases in prices. The increases that had the greatest influence on the CPI were registered for the “Transport” (3.9%) and “Recreation and culture” (2.3%) sectors, which contributed with an effect of 0.53 and 0.21 ppts, respectively. The increases in the remaining sectors had an effect of 0.39 ppts on the CPI of February 2023.
increase in the category “Operation of personal transport equipment” (6.5%), which contributed to an effect of 0.53 ppts. The increase in the “Recreation and culture” sector was mainly due to an increase of 10.4% in the category “Holidays”, which contributed to an effect of 0.26 ppts.
The decrease in the “Restaurants and hotels” sector was due to a decrease in the category “Accommodation services”(-65.7%), which contributed to an effect of -0.17 ppts. The decrease in the “Housing” sector was due to a decrease in the category “Maintenance and repair of the dwelling” (-2.8%), which contributed to an effect of -0.15 ppts.
Consumption basket
The consumption basket of the CPI consists of 408 goods and services. Compared to January 2023, 50.0% of these products had an increase in price, causing an effect of 1.62 ppts, while 35.5% showed a decrease, contributing to an effect of -0.78 ppts and the remaining 14.5% had no change in price. The prices of goods increased by 0.9% and caused an influence of 0.56 ppts. The prices of services showed an increase of 0.7% and had an influence of 0.28 ppts on the CPI of February 2023.
Subsistence level
The CPIC (core inflation) – CPI excluding the effect of energy and food – was 3.2% in February 2023. The energy index – which consists of the products: electricity, water, gasoline and diesel – was 16.0%. The food index showed an increase of 11.6%.
What is CPIC?
The CPIC (core inflation) is a portion of the inflation where certain items, which have volatile price movements are excluded, such as food products and energy. When calculating the core inflation, the most volatile components are eliminated from the inflation. The core inflation index is used to assess the medium and long-term trends of the general level of prices. For purposes of economic policy-making, especially monetary policy, many economists focus on the proportion of the core inflation, as this allows a more in-depth evaluation of the recent inflation developments in the economy. The annual average of the CPI is used to calculate the CPIC.
The CPIC is calculated by comparing the average index for the most recent 12-month period compared with the preceding 12- month period.
The three main uses of a CPI are:
1. a calculation method to compensate employees due to the loss of purchasing power, adjusting their salaries, with the percentage change rate of the CPI, which is known as indexation.
2. a tool used in National Accounts to adjust components of the gross domestic product (GDP) from nominal terms to real terms. (For example, by eliminating the effect of the price changes from the consumption value)
3. a means commonly used by governments and central banks to set inflation targets.
The subsistence level for a household consisting of two (2) adults and two (2) children (aged 0-15 years) in February 2023 is Afl. 5,393, an increase of Afl. 30 compared to January 2023 (Afl. 5,363). The subsistence level for a single adult household is Afl. 2,568, an increase of Afl. 14 compared to January 2023 (Afl. 2,554).
