INFLATION for last year ended up at 10.2 per cent after the all-Jamaica ‘all divisions’ consumer price index (CPI) increased by 1.1 per cent for the month of December 2009.

The division that contributed significantly to this movement was ‘housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’, which rose by 5.1 per cent during the month of December.

“This was the result of higher prices being paid for ‘electricity, gas and other fuels’ (going) up by 7.2 per cent and ‘rentals for housing’, up by 3.3 per cent,” said a release made by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (Statin). “The 1.8 per cent increase recorded for the division ‘miscellaneous goods and services’, which reflected the increased cost for passports also contributed to this increase.”

At 10.2 per cent, inflation for 2009 was 6.6 percentage points lower than the 16.8 per cent recorded for 2008.

Although the index for the division ‘alcoholic beverages and tobacco’ had the highest movement for the year — 23.3 per cent — the division impacting the index most was ‘housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels’, which increased by 23 per cent.

The movement in the index for the fiscal year to date stood at 8.8 per cent compared to the 11 per cent for the comparative period the year before.