Essential commodity prices in Malé rise 6.35% over one year

Prices of essential commodities in Malé increased by 6.35 per cent in May compared with the same month last year, according to figures released by the Maldives Bureau of Statistics.

Data published in the bureau's Essential Commodities Price Index (ECPI) also showed that prices rose by 1.14 per cent in May compared with April.

The largest year-on-year increase was recorded in the gas and fuel category, where prices rose by 14.54 per cent compared with May last year. However, prices in the category remained unchanged from April.

Food prices also continued to increase. According to the ECPI, food prices in Malé were 6.37 per cent higher than a year earlier and rose by 1.59 per cent compared with the previous month.

Among food items, meat prices increased by 6.68 per cent in May compared with April, while vegetable prices rose by 3.09 per cent over the same period.

The bureau's figures also showed increases in the prices of coffee, tea and juices.

Coffee and coffee substitutes recorded a monthly increase of 0.92 per cent. Compared with May last year, prices in this category were 18.58 per cent higher.

Meanwhile, prices of personal care products fell by 0.7 per cent compared with April. Despite the monthly decline, prices in the category remained 3.10 per cent higher than in May last year.

The Essential Commodities Price Index tracks changes in the prices of commonly used goods and services and serves as a measure of cost movements faced by households in the capital.