Inflation picks up again to 6.6% in December

The inflation rate has confirmed its upward trend in December 2021, picking up for the third month in a row to 6.6% from 6.4% in November and 6.3% in October, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) announced Wednesday.
This rise is explained, essentially, by the acceleration of the pace of increases in food prices (7.6% against 6.9%) as well as prices of the furniture, household goods and household routine maintenance group (5.2% against 4.8%).
On average, annual inflation will be 5.7% in 2021, compared with 5.6% in 2020.

Food inflation up 7.6%
Food prices went up 7.6% year-on-year in December 2021. This increase is mainly due to higher prices of poultry by 23.3%, olive oil by 21.8%, eggs by 15.5%, fresh fruit by 16.7%, fresh vegetables by 10.8% and fresh fish by 9%.
In addition, prices of beef and sheep went down, over a year, (-3.6%) and (- 2.2%), respectively.
This is the same for prices of dried fruits which posted an increase of (-6.9%) over one year.

Manufactured goods grow 7.6%
Over a year, the prices of manufactured goods have risen by 7.6% due to the increase in prices of pharmaceutical products by 5.7%, building materials by 14%, clothing products by 8.7% and household cleaning products by 5.4%.
For services, prices were up 4.8% over one year. This rate is explained by the increase in prices of restaurants, cafes and hotels services by 6.5%, health services by 5.2% and rents by 4.3%.

Core inflation rate down 6.4%
The core inflation rate (excluding food and energy) fell to 6.4% from 6.5% the previous month. Prices of free (uncontrolled) goods increased by 6.7%. Prices of administered products increased by 6.5%.
For free food products, they rose 8.3% against 4% for food products with regulated prices.

Consumer prices rise 0.5% in December 2021
Consumer prices rose 0.5% in December 2021, from 0.1% the previous month. This increase was mainly due to the rise in food prices by 0.7%, clothing by 1.4% and furnishings, household goods and routine household maintenance by 0.7%, as well as prices for restaurant and hotel services (+0.5%).
In monthly variation, food prices posted a rise of 0.7% from (-0.6%) last month, mainly explained by the significant rise in prices of fresh vegetables (4.8%), eggs (4.4%), milk and cheese group (1.4%) and edible oils (0.7%).
In contrast, the prices of poultry posted a decrease 2.0% and those of beef went down 0.7%.
The INS also reported that prices of clothing products rose 1.4% in December 2021 due to the increase in prices of winter clothing by 1.4% and winter shoes by 1.4%.
On a monthly basis, prices for furniture, household goods and routine household maintenance went up 0.7%. This increase is explained by the rise in prices of furniture and furnishings by 0.9% and prices of goods and services related to home maintenance by 0.9%, said INS.