THE Isle of Man’s inflation rate was unchanged in April.
The cost of living, as measured by the Retail Prices Index, was 3.3 per cent, the same as in March.
Excluding housing costs, it increased to 2.9 per cent from 2.7 per cent the month before.
The inflation rate measured by the Consumer Prices Index, which excludes mortgage interest payments and household expenditure such as buildings insurance, stayed at 1.9 per cent.
A closer look shows that food is 5.3 per cent more expensive than a year ago.
Fish has gone up by 24.3 per cent over the year, cheese by 11.1 per cent, vegetables by 17.5 per cent and potatoes by 15.3 per cent. In contrast, eggs got 3.6 per cent cheaper and bacon dropped 4.3 per cent.
Fares and travel costs have risen by 5.4 per cent over the year, with bus and coach travel up by 8.7 per cent, sea travel up 2.4 per cent and air travel 6.8 per cent.
Tobacco rose 10.2 per cent, alcoholic drink by 1.4 per cent, housing by 5.1 per cent and motoring expenditure by 1.7 per cent over the year, although it was 0.1 per cent cheaper than in March.
RPI rose 3.3 per cent in March in the UK. April’s figure has not been released.
