Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2021=100)1 showed some uptick to
record 1.5% in April 2024 compared to 0.9% in March 2024.
Food inflation (Y-o-Y) decelerated to 2.9% in April 2024 from 3.8% in March 2024. Nevertheless, Non-Food Category recorded an inflation (Y-o-Y) of
0.9% in April 2024 compared to the 0.5% deflation observed in March 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation continued to decline. Monthly change of CCPI recorded -0.79% in April 2024 due to the price decreases of 0.32% observed in the items of Food category and the price decreases of 0.47% observed in the items of Non-Food category.
Meanwhile, core inflation (Y-o-Y), which reflects the underlying
inflation trends in the economy, accelerated to 3.4% in April 2024 from 3.1% in March 2024.
Quarterly average inflation was in line with the Central Bank’s medium term projections arrived during the March 2024 forecast round and monthly inflation data reinforce the projection path. Inflation is expected to
stabilise around the targeted level of 5 per cent in the period ahead, supported by appropriate policy measures.