Kuwait's consumer prices index (CPI) or inflation rate rose in January 2015 by 2.81 percent compared with the same month of last year, the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) announced Sunday. In its monthly report the CSB, however, stated that the inflation rate dropped by 0.07 percent in January 2015 vis-a-vis December 2014 as a result of the decrease in prices of some major groups, KUNA reported. The CSB data showed that the consumer prices of three major groups increased, retreated for four others and remained flat for five groups compared with that of December. The groups which recorded rises month-on-month were: tobacco and narcotics, health and miscellaneous goods and services. The groups whose consumer prices dropped month-on-month were: food and beverages, clothing and footwear, communications and recreation and culture. The details data showed that the consumer prices index of the group "tobacco and narcotics" soared by 1.45 percent year-on-year and by 0.20 percent month-on-month. The CPI of the "health" group surged by 1.11 percent year-on-year and 0.16 percent month-on-month. The CPI of the major group of "miscellaneous goods and services" jumped by 2.13 percent year-on-year and 0.15 percent month-on-month. Meanwhile, the CPI of the major group of "furnishing equipment and household maintenance" hiked by 3.53 percent year-on-year and remained unchanged month-on-month. The CPI of the major group "housing services" rose by 5.03 percent year-on-year, and remained unchanged month-on-month. Furthermore, the CPI of the major group "education" ballooned by 6.57 percent year-on-year and remained flat month-on-month. The CPI of the major group "food and beverages" jumped by 1.45 percent year-on-year, but declined by 0.27 percent month-on-month. The CPI of the major group "clothing and footwear" surged by 0.31 percent year-on-year and slipped by 0.15 percent month-on-month. The CPI of the major group "restaurants and hotels" grew by 3.98 percent year-on-year, but remained unchanged month-on-month. The CPI of the main group of "recreational and cultural" rose by 0.08 percent year-on-year, but dropped by 0.46 percent month-on-month. The CPI of the main group of "transport" swelled by 1.54 percent year-on-year and remained flat month-on-month. Meanwhile, the CPI of the major group of "communications" decreased by 0.20 percent year-on-year and by 0.10 percent month-on-month. The Central Statistical Bureau issues a monthly report on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) which gives indications of the rates of changes in prices for the commodity groups influencing the families' expenditure and the ability of consumer spending. This index uses the year 2007 as the base year.
