Sri Lanka inflation jumps in September

Sept 28, 2007 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka's capital jumped 1.1 percent in September keeping the 12-month increase in consumer prices at 17.3 percent, the government's statistics office said. The 12-month moving average of the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), which is an average over 24-months to flatten seasonal fluctuations, rose to 17.5 percent.

The index itself gained 60.6 points to end the month at 5453.2 points, the Department of Census and Statistics said.

Crackers

Food prices rose the fastest showing a gain of 49.2 points, with rice, rice & curry, bread & curry, lactogen (a brand of milk), corriander, pepper, cummin seed, coconut oil, biscuits (cream crackers), fresh fish (balaya and small mullet), dried fish (katta), coconuts, potatoes and some varieties of vegetables going up.

"These price increases can be mainly attributed to the off season of some domestic agricultural products during the reference month," the statistics office said, not explaining whether cream crackers were also "off-season".

The statistics usually attributed a growth in the index to a "short supply of vegetables".

Sri Lanka's inflation has been rising since May after t