BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- The consumer price index (CPI) data released by Brunei's Ministry of Finance and Economy on Saturday showed that prices in the sultanate inched up 0.1 percent last year compared to that of 2017.
The decrease in the prices of clothing and footwear, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels was not enough to offset the increasing cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages, health and communication.
The biggest spikes in prices for the 12-month period were attributed to food and non-alcoholic beverages (1.9 percent), education (1.8 percent) and health (1.6 percent).
Price hikes were also recorded for communication (0.4 percent), recreation and culture (0.2 percent) and restaurants and hotels (0.5 percent).
Clothing and footwear, meanwhile, saw a significant 4.4-percent price reduction while the cost of household equipment and routine household maintenance decreased by 0.9 percent.
The prices of housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels went down 0.5 percent, while costs of transport and miscellaneous goods and services going decreased 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent respectively.
CPI is a measure of price changes of goods and services paid by the consumer in a specified period. It measures inflation, or the rate at which prices accelerate.
Brunei's list of goods and services in the CPI is based on the average expenditure per household.
