Sri Lanka inflation drops significantly in February due to reduction in food prices
Sri Lanka's inflation, as measured by the change in the Colombo Consumers' Price Index (CCPI) , declined considerably to 2.9 percent in February 2015 from 3.2 percent in the previous month on a year-on-year basis, the Central Bank reported on Friday.
The absolute CCPI computed by the Department of Census and Statistics decreased from 183.2 in January 2015 to 178.9 in February.
The general price level decreased in February 2015 by 2.35 percent compared to the prices in the previous month due to the significant drop in food prices.
Of the total decrease of 2.35 percent, Food Items contributed a percentage of 0.99 mainly due to drop in prices of essential food items such as milk powder, rice, fish, chicken, coconut oil, vegetables, potatoes. Price reductions in gas, and fuel including kerosene also contributed significantly. However price increases were experienced for coconut, dhal, red onions and eggs.
The Core inflation, which indicates the underlying inflation in the economy, declined from 2.1 percent in in January 2015 to 0.8 percent in February on a Year-on-Year basis. Annual average core inflation during February 2015 was 3.2 percent, compared to 3.4 percent recorded in January.
