The consumer price index (CPI) rose in October 2001, reversing a decline in the previous month. Prices were 0.2 per cent higher than a year previously, said the National Bureau of Statistics. In September, prices fell 0.1 per cent, the first drop in 18 months.
The October rise was attributed to higher food prices during the week-long national holiday at the beginning of the month. Vegetable prices were 6.2 per cent higher than a year earlier and egg prices jumped 11.9 per cent. The cost of services rose 4.2 per cent and the price of water was up 11.4 per cent.
The total value of retail sales in October 2001 stood at Yn337.73bn, 10.5 per cent higher than in the same month of 2000. Over the first 10 months of the year, sales rose by a year-on-year 10.1 per cent.