The overall inflation is 1.35% in September 2024 as compared to 2.05% in August, bringing the national average inflation from January to September 2024 to 3.13%, according to National Statistics Bureauโs (NSB) report on consumer price index (CPI) for the September month this year.
According to the Bureau, the trend was primarily driven by rise in food and non-alcoholic beverages index which recorded an increase of 4.18%.
Similarly, the non-food inflation dropped to -0.98% in September this year from 0.99% in August 2024. This downward trend in the non-food category was mainly driven by decrease in the indices of transport, housing and utilities to -7.38% and -0.87%, respectively.
Capital City CPI
Month-on-month inflation for the capital city decreased to -0.15% in September. This increase was attributed mainly by a 0.52% rise in the food index and a -0.76% drop in the non-food index.
The food inflation for the capital city increased to 0.52%. The increase was driven with an increase of the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages to 0.56%. However, the index of alcoholic beverages and betel nuts remained unchanged.
Similarly, the non-food index for the capital city dropped to -0.7%. In the non-food category, the transport index decreased to -2.51% and the housing and utilities index saw a -0.64% drop.
Central CPI
In September this year, the month-on-month inflation for the central region decreased to -0.13% compared to the previous month. The decrease is mainly attributed with an decrease in non-food inflation.
The non-food inflation decreased to -0.75% with a drop in housing and utility index to -0.78%, and a -2.94% drop in the transport index.
Similarly, the food inflation increased to 0.52%, largely driven by a 0.56% increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages index, and a 0.15% increase in the alcoholic beverages and betel nuts.
Eastern CPI
The month-on-month headline inflation rate for the eastern region decreased to -0.21%, mainly driven by a decrease in the non-food index.
The non-food inflation decreased to -0.90%. The decrease in the non-food inflation in the eastern CPI is mainly attributed with a drop in housing and utilities index by -0.69%, while the transport index has also decreased to -3.29%.
Meanwhile, food inflation in the eastern region increased to 0.37% in September 2024. The food and non-alcoholic beverages index increased to 0.39% and that of the alcoholic beverages and betel nuts increased to 0.08%.
Western CPI
In the western region, the inflation rate dropped to -0.06%, mainly driven by a decrease in the index of non-food inflation.
Food inflation in the western region recorded an increase of 0.55% in September this year. According to the NSB, the upward trend in food inflation was mainly driven by a 0.54% increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages index, and a 0.64% increase in the alcoholic beverages and betel nuts index.
Similarly, non-food inflation in western region recorded a decline of -0.71% compared to August 2024, with the transport index dropping to -2.67%, and the housing and utilities index decreasing to -0.57%.
Meanwhile, the purchasing power of the Ngultrum, as measured by CPI, stood at Nu 56.4 as of September 2024 as compared to December 2012. This means, Nu. 100 in September 2024 is worth only Nu 56.4 at December 2012 prices.
The purchasing power of the Ngultrum has eroded by 1.33% in the last year (from September 2023 to September 2024) due to price increases in the economy.
Sherab Dorji from Thimphu
