The development of consumer prices in Curaçao for the month of February 2021
WILLEMSTAD - Figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) announced today show that the price level has increased by 0.3 percent compared to January 2021. The inflation rate has remained the same at 2.2 percent.
Price development in the month of February 2021 compared to the previous month of January 2021
The consumer price index (CPI) of Curaçao has increased by 0.3 percent in the month of February, compared to the month of January 2021, developing from 137.1 in January 2021 to 137.5 in February 2021.
The most important price changes during the past month (February 2021) are; the price of kerosene (5.2%), gasoline (2.6%), electricity (2.2%), gas oil (2.0%), grain products (1.6%), potatoes, vegetables and fruit (1.5%), sugar and chocolate (1.5%) and water (-4.3%), hobby items (-1.5%) and household appliances and tools (-0.3%).
Price development February 2021 compared to February 2020
The February 2021 CPI (137.5) is 2.9 percent higher than the February 2020 CPI (133.6). These figures indicate that the cost of living in February 2021 will be 2.9 percent higher than in the same month of 2020. The categories that contributed most to this growth are food, beverages and tobacco, and healthcare.
Inflation is a reflection of the loss of monetary value, i.e. purchasing power, as consumer prices for products and services increase over a longer period of time (usually 12 months). The inflation rate is thus an indication of the average increase in the cost of living and is therefore recommended as an indexation tool for salaries, pensions, social benefits, minimum wages, and other incomes.
Inflation in a given month is calculated by comparing the 12-month average of the CPI in that month with the 12-month average CPI in the same month a year earlier. Measured over the twelve-month period to February 2021, compared to the same period a year earlier, consumer prices have increased on average by 2.2 percent: the 12-month mean CPI has developed from 132.7 in February 2020 to 135.6 in February 2021.