Prices up from last quarter (0.35%) and slightly up from last year (0.09%)

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Sint Maarten in the 3rd Quarter of 2019 is 100.59. This represents an increase of 0.35 percent, when compared to that of 2nd Quarter 2019.

When comparing the consumer prices from the same period 12 months previously (3rd Quarter 2018 to 3rd Quarter 2019), an increase of 0.09 percent was recorded.

Quarter-to-Quarter Percentage Change: 2019 Q2 to 2019 Q3

For the 3rd Quarter 2019, prices in seven of the twelve expenditure categories recorded increases while five decreased in price compared to 2nd Quarter 2019. The increases were in the categories: ‘Food and non-alcoholic beverages’ (+0.27%), ‘Alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics’ (+0.77%), ‘Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’ (+0.49%), ‘Furnishings, household equipment and maintenance’ (+1.51%), ‘Recreation and culture’ (+0.66%), ‘Education’ (+0.51%) and ‘Miscellaneous goods and services’ (+1.10%). Decreases were seen in the following categories: ‘Clothing and footwear’ (-0.35%), ‘Health’ (-0.42%), ‘Transport’ (-0.61%), ‘Communication’ (-0.37%) and ‘Restaurants and hotels’ (-0.03%).

Based on the latest Household Budget Survey, the following four categories have the largest percentage weight (influence) of the total CPI: Food and non-alcoholic beverages (7.2%), Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (36.1%), Transport (14.6%) and Miscellaneous goods and services (13.4%).

For Food and non-alcoholic beverages, the cost of the subcategory ‘Food’ went up by 0.48 percent. This was mainly due to the rise in the price of meat (+0.99%), vegetables (+1.15%) and food products n.e.c1 (+2.59%). Prices in the subcategory ‘Non-alcoholic beverages’ decreased by 0.9 percent. This was driven by a decrease (-1.12%) in the prices of coffee, tea and cocoa.

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The change in the price of Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels was influenced by increases in the price levels of the subgroups: ‘Actual rentals for housing’ (+2.82%) and ‘Maintenance and repair of the dwelling’ (+0.31%). Note, in this category, rent has the largest weight of 27.9 percent and so these increases counteracted the decrease in prices of ‘Electricity, gas and other fuels’ (-4.17%).

For this quarter, the price for Transport was largely impacted by the ‘Operation of personal transport equipment’ (-2.54%) such as fuels, lubricants, spare parts and accessories. While, prices in the category Miscellaneous goods and services increased largely because of the increase in the subcategory ‘Financial services n.e.c1’ (+7.58%).

Year-on-Year Percentage Change (Inflation): Comparing 2019 Q3 with 2018 Q3

The prices of 3rd Quarter 2019 has increased slightly when compared to those of 3rd Quarter 2018. The inflation rate recorded is 0.09 percent. This rise in prices for the 12-month period was largely due to increases in the household expenditure categories: ‘Alcoholic beverages, tobacco and narcotics’ (+2.08%), ‘Clothing and footwear’ (+3.53%), ‘Health’ (+1.33%) and ‘Recreation and culture’ (+1.07%).

For all four expenditure categories with the highest weight on the Total CPI, the prices went down, when compared to the same period last year. Food and non-alcoholic beverages decreased 0.84 percent; the category Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels as well as the category Transport, went down 0.18 percent and 0.37 percent respectively; and ‘Miscellaneous goods and services decreased by 0.21 percent. Despite the drop in prices in these four major categories, the rise in the other categories caused the slight overall increase in the inflation rate.

This press release and previous press releases are published on our website, www.stat.gov.sx.