Malta Inflation Creeps Up

Malta’s annual rate of inflation as measured by the Retail Price Index went up to 1.06% in December, from 0.68% in November. On a monthly basis, a rate of 0.67% was registered in December 2016, up from 0.39% registered in November 2016, Maltanews reported. Malta’s National Statistics Office said the main upward impacts on annual inflation were recorded in the Food Index (0.97 percentage points), the Beverages and Tobacco Index (0.21 percentage points), and the Household Equipment and House Maintenance Costs (0.21 percentage points). This was mainly due to higher prices of vegetables, cigarettes and home furniture.