The National Statistics Bureau (NSB) recorded the country’s inflation rate for March at 3.15 per cent. The inflation rate is the rate at which prices of goods and services increase over time. The March number is a drop by over one percentage point compared to February. According to the NSB, the inflation rate is lower in March as a result of the decrease in transportation prices.
The NSB’s basket of goods and services to measure inflation includes food items, alcoholic beverages, betel nuts, and non-food items like clothing, housing and utilities, health, transport, communication, and education among others.
Between February and March, the NSB’s latest inflation report shows that prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped by over half a per cent. On the other hand, alcoholic beverages and betel nut prices decreased by over one per cent.
The decrease in the rate of inflation in March was also majorly driven by the drop in prices in the transport sector.
The drop in fuel prices for both diesel and petrol by over Nu 12 in March led to over half a per cent drop in prices in transportation.
The inflation rate of 3.15 per cent in March is a drop by 2.43 percentage points as compared to the same month last year. This means that the rate at which the prices of goods and services increased was slower this time around.
Meanwhile, the purchasing power of ngultrum is Nu 59 in March as compared to December 2012 prices. This means Nu 100 in December 2012 is worth only Nu 59 today. Over the course of the past year, the value of ngultrum dropped by over three per cent.
Namgay Dema
Edited by Sherub Dorji
