KUWAIT: Kuwait's inflation rate in December rose by 2.95 percent on a year-on-year basis, the Central Statistics Bureau (CSB) said yesterday. In its monthly consumer prices index (CPI) report, CSB noted that the monthly inflation rate rose by 0.34 percent in December compared to a month earlier. On the scale of individual sectors, there were significant price rises in food and beverages (9.81 percent), culture and recreation (7.23 percent), commodities and miscellaneous goods and services (5.73) and telecommunications (5.3 percent).

Other sectors that witnessed rises were home furnishings and household maintenance (4.18 percent), transport (3.34 percent), cigarettes and tobacco (2.43 percent), clothing and footwear (2.19 percent) and healthcare (1.73 percent). Education was the only sector to have witnessed a downturn, plummeting by 15.46 percent.

Elsewhere, two sectors, namely housing services and restaurants and hotels, remained unchanged - the former unaffected for the second month in a row. The CPI measures prices in general, either on a monthly or yearly basis. It is also a basic indicator for growth or economic recession, which the state may take into consideration when making decisions regarding economic and commercial sectors or to map out monetary and financial policies. - KUNA