Today, Minister for the Cabinet Office the Hon. Wayne L. Furbert, JP, MP, released the August 2020 Consumer Price Index publication from the Department of Statistics. 

The Minister explained, “In August 2020 consumers paid 0.7 per cent less than they did for the CPI basket of goods and services in August 2019.” 

The Rent sector, where prices declined by 3.2 percent strongly impacted the annual rate of inflation as properties not subject to rent control contracted by 7.3 percent year-over-year. This means that on average rents fell by 7.3% between August 2019 and August 2020. The Transport & Foreign Travel and Fuel & Power sectors also impacted strongly on the annual rate of inflation, as price declines in these sectors were 6.9 per cent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

The Minister added, “Between July 2020 and August 2020 the average cost of all goods and services increased 0.6 percentage points.”

Between July 2020 and August 2020 the average cost of health insurance premiums and self-prescribed medicines and household medical supplies rose 1.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. The Health & Personal Care sector increased 0.8 per cent for the month.  The Education, Recreation, Entertainment & Reading was up 1.7 percent in August. Price increases were reported in the average cost of the local newspaper (+33.3 percent) and personal computers and laptops (+4.5 percent).  The Rent sector climbed 0.3 per cent for the month as the average cost of properties not subject to rent control and properties subject to rent control rose 0.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.   

The Minister pointed out that every month “we measure the annual rate of inflation and the monthly rate of inflation. Annual are changes from the same month last year, and monthly are the changes from month to month”. 

The August 2020 Consumer Price Index is available online at www.gov.bm/bermuda-business-statistics.