Cigarettes lead Tokelau’s annual CPI rise

Cigarettes lead Tokelau’s annual CPI rise for second consecutive quarter

Friday, 31 January 2014, 12:00 pm (SDT)

The consumer price index (CPI) for Tokelau increased 2.1 percent for the year to the December 2013 quarter, the Tokelau National Statistics Office said today.

“The largest group contribution to the annual increase of 2.1 percent came from the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group, up 8.8 percent,” said National Statistician Kele Lui, “Cigarettes were again the most significant driver of the increase, with prices up 12.3 percent for the year."

“In Tokelau, each nuku sets its own pricing policies. Sometimes the price a consumer pays for one good might be increased, in order to decrease the price of another good,” said Mr Lui.

During the September 2013 quarter the consumer price for cigarettes was increased by nuku policy.

This continues to have a significant impact on the annual CPI movement.

By group, the largest downward contribution for the year to December came from the food and nonalcoholic beverages group, down 2.7 percent. The key individual downward contribution came from lower prices for chicken pieces, down 10.3 percent.

“While the CPI has increased for the year to the December quarter, families in Tokelau will be pleased to note that the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages has decreased for the year,” said Mr Lui.

For the December 2013 quarter, the CPI rose by 3.0 percent.

For the quarter the main upward contribution came from the food and non-alcoholic beverages group, up 4.0 percent. Higher prices for washing powder (up 63.5 percent) made the most significant upward contributor for the group.

Significant upward contributions also came from higher prices for biscuits and crackers (up 28.0 percent), canned fish (up 21.1 percent), sugar (up 13.2 percent), milk powder (up 14.1 percent), and cigarettes (up, 2.4 percent).

Countering these increases, prices decreased for mayonnaise (down 11.9 percent), long-life milk (down 5.1 percent), flour (down 10.5 percent), and chicken pieces (down 2.2. percent).

Tokelau is one of the world’s most geographically isolated countries, and home to 1,383 people.

The CPI measures the rate of price change of goods and services purchased by Tokelau households.

Further information on the CPI, including tables and technical notes, is available from http://TokelauNSO.tk

ENDS

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