The development of consumer prices in Curaçao for the month of December 2021
WILLEMSTAD - The figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) announced today show that the price level in December 2021 was 0.8 percent compared to November 2021. The inflation rate for the entire year 2021 is 3.8 percent.
Price development for the month of December 2021 compared to the previous month of November 2021
Curaçao's consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.8 percent in December, compared to November 2021, developing from 107.7 in November 2021 to 108.5 in December 2021.
The main price changes during the past month (December 2021) are; the increasing cost of kerosene (11.3%), propane gas cylinder (6.3%), means of transport (5.7%), upholstery & home textiles (5.4%), gas oil (4.6%), gasoline (3, 9%), sugar and chocolate (1.9%), dairy products (1.8%), edible fats (1.7%), potatoes, vegetables and fruit (1.3%), and water becoming cheaper (- 1.3%), home furnishings (-1.1%), electricity (-1.0%), and garden maintenance (-0.6%).
Price development December 2021 compared to December 2020
The December 2021 CPI (108.5) is 4.9 percent higher than the December 2020 CPI (103.5). These figures indicate that the cost of living in December 2021 will be 4.9 percent higher than in the same month of 2020. The categories that contributed most to this growth are food, housing, health care and transport and communication.
Long-term price development: inflation (December) 2021
Inflation reflects the loss of monetary value, i.e. purchasing power, as consumer prices for products and services rise 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 wage and other incomes.
Inflation in a given month is calculated by comparing the 12-month average CPI in that month with the 12-month average CPI in the same month a year earlier. Measured over the twelve-month period to December 2021, compared to the same period a year earlier, consumer prices have increased on average by 3.8 percent in 2021: the 12-month average CPI has developed from 102.2 in December 2020 to 106.0 in December 2021.