Inflation down by 0.9% in 2015

AMMAN — Inflation in 2015 edged down by 0.9 per cent, compared to 2014, the Department of Statistics (DoS) announced on Sunday.

Main item groups that contributed to the drop were transportation (14.2 per cent), fuel and lighting (13.3 per cent), beverages (1.5 per cent) and personal objects (3.5 per cent), according to a DoS report e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

An increase in prices during the year was witnessed in rents (4.9 per cent), fruit and nuts (4.8 per cent), tobacco and cigarettes (3.5 per cent), and education (3.1 per cent).

The DoS report highlighted that average consumer prices in December 2015 went down by 1.6 per cent, compared to the same month of 2014.

On a monthly basis, average consumer prices in December 2015 increased by 0.1 per cent compared to the previous month.

DoS started calculating the inflation rate considering 2010 a base year, instead of 2006, starting from January 2015 to conform to international classifications and approaches.