The Department of Statistics (STAT) reports stable consumer prices in Sint Maarten for Q1 2026. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), key measure of everyday costs, reached 115.78, a modest 0.43% increase from Q4 2025 (115.28) and 0.66% year-on-year from Q1 2025 (115.02).
Key Note on Data Collection: CPI prices are collected during the first two weeks of each month,
followed by validation (a detailed review) in the third or fourth week.
A fuel price surge began after the second week of March, coinciding with the war in Iran. As a result,
Q1 2026 CPI was not affected as severely as expected. Offsetting factors included a decline in housing
costs, as more affordable apartments entered the market.
Major CPI Categories – Weight, Quarterly, and Year-on-Year Changes
Table 1.
Category Weight (%)
Q1 2026 vs Q4 2025 (% Change)
Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025 (% Change)
Housing, Water and Energy 36.1% +0.57% -1.57%
Transport 14.6% +0.68% +2.45%
Miscellaneous Goods and Services 13.4% -0.65% -1.00%
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
7.2% +0.78% +1.29%
*The above-mentioned categories are the variables that have the largest influence on price
Quarter 1 Overview (Q1 2026)
The CPI rose 0.43% compared to Q4 2025, signaling a slight upward trend to start of the year.
Key category movements:
Housing, Water and Energy (+0.57%): Driven by higher actual rentals, maintenance, and
dwelling repairs.
Transport (+0.68%): Fueled by transport services and personal transport operations (including
fuel).
Miscellaneous Goods and Services (-0.65%): Declines in personal care and personal effects
(n.e.c.).
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.78%): Led by food products, vegetables, and meat;
offset by -5.75% in milk, cheese, and eggs.
These shifts reflect balanced pressures across essentials, maintaining overall stability.
Inflation Annual Trends: Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025
Overall CPI rose moderately (+0.66%), but key categories showed notable year-on-year shifts: **
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+1.29%): Driven by food products (n.e.c., +16.07%)
and coffee, tea, and cocoa (+8.83%).
Transport (+2.45%): Led by transport services (+3.58%), which in turn was primarily driven
by sub-component transport by air (+13.88%).
Miscellaneous Goods and Services (-1.00%): Declines in financial services (n.e.c., –
4.69%) and personal care (-2.54%).
Housing, Water and Energy (-1.57%): Pulled down by electricity, gas, and other fuels (-
7.64%), mainly electricity (-9.78%).
Fuel & Fuel Clause: Key Drivers Amid Island-Wide Discussions
Fuel prices (for vehicles), a topic of significant concern for every resident of Sint Maarten, experienced
notable increases during the first quarter of 2026. As shown in Table 2, gasoline prices increased by
6.8% and diesel prices by 9.8% compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. On a year-on-year basis (Q1
2026 vs. Q1 2025), gasoline prices rose by 5.0%, while diesel prices increased by 10.8%. Meanwhile,
the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained relatively stable.
The Fuel Clause (Table 3) recorded a modest 0.53% quarter-on-quarter increase (Q1 2026 vs. Q4
2025), but declined 16% compared to Q1 2026, helping to ease inflationary pressures.
In summary, the most heavily weighted Housing, Water & Energy category (36.1%) recorded a year-
on-year decline of 1.57% with a fuel decline of 0.33% in Q1 2026 compared to 0.39% in Q1 2025.
However, the offset movements in other sub-categories contributed to keeping overall CPI growth
modest at only 0.66% in Q1 2026.