For the third quarter of 2021 the RPI has been measured at 108.2 (Chart 1). This is an increase of 0.6% from three months ago, when the index stood at 107.5. It is also an increase of 1.7% from a year ago, when the RPI was 106.4. This means that the annual inflation rate is 1.7%, comparing prices in the third quarter of 2021 to the same time period in 2020. This is the highest inflation has been since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notable changes over the 12 months include the impact of the recent increases in petrol and diesel prices as well as increases in representative items within the Alcohol and Tobacco category. Items which saw notable decreases include representative items used to measure housing and also include some items within the Food category, for example items used to represent cooking stock and some dairy products. However, despite these downward pressures, all nine categories experienced positive inflation during this current quarter.

The index uses 203 representative items to measure price changes in nine different categories of household spending; since a year ago, 84 items increased in price, 28 items decreased in price, and the price of 91 items remained unchanged. However, in the shorter term, looking at price changes in the last three months, 38 prices rose, 23 prices fell and 142 prices remained unchanged; this is reflected in the upward movement in the index in Q3 2021 compared to Q2.

The full Statistical Bulletin can be found on the St Helena Government website here: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/statistics-reports-and-publications/ detailed data can be accessed in Excel format from the ‘Inflation’ file at: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/st-helena/statistics/

Source: St Helena Government