Cheap oil drives inflation to five-year low

Monday 27 April 2015

Cheap fuel and oil has helped to keep the cost of living down in Jersey.

The latest inflation figures – for the 12 months to the end of March – reveal that the retail price index increased by just 0.6 per cent. Better prices at the pumps and smaller increases in the cost of household services, which include school fees and phone bills, helped to keep costs down.

Underlying inflation – which includes mortgages and indirect taxes such as parish rates at GST – recorded its lowest rate of increase since records began in 2007.

Some products and services saw price decreases over the year to March including fuel and light (-7%), leisure goods (-6%), household goods (-3%), motoring (-2%), clothing and footwear (-1%) and food (-0.2%).

Others, however, increased, including housing (+3%), fares and other travel (+6%) and alcoholic drinks (+2%).

Jersey’s 0.6% RPI increase over the 12 months to the end of March was slightly higher than the UK (0.3%) but lower than Guernsey (1.3%)

On a quarterly basis, the RPI increased by 0.3% between December 2014 and the end of last month.