BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (Borneo Bulletin/ANN): The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Brunei in November 2024 recorded a 0.5 per cent decrease compared to November 2023, driven by a 1.2 per cent decline in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index and a 0.3 per cent decrease in the non-food index.
The drop in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index was largely attributed to lower prices of chicken meat under the meat category, which fell by 2.5 per cent due to reduced chicken feed costs.
Additionally, the vegetables category registered a 4.6 per cent decline, influenced by a drop in onion and shallot prices from producing countries. The non-food index decrease was primarily driven by a 1.1 per cent reduction in the transport category, reflecting lower prices of motor cars and air fares. A 0.9 per cent decline in the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels category, particularly in maintenance and repair costs for dwellings, further contributed to the decrease.
On a month-on-month basis, the CPI for November 2024 increased by 0.3 per cent from October 2024. This rise was driven by a 0.4 per cent increase in the non-food index, while the food and non-alcoholic beverages index recorded a slight decline of 0.1 per cent.
The non-food index increase was mainly attributed to higher prices in clothing and footwear (5.7 per cent) and recreation and culture (1.1 per cent). Meanwhile, the decrease in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index was due to lower prices of fish and seafood (1.2 per cent) and meat (0.3 per cent).
The CPI measures price changes in a basket of goods and services purchased by consumers over a specific period and is compiled monthly.
The list of items in the CPI is based on average household expenditure data from the Household Expenditure Survey (HES).
The full November 2024 CPI report is available on the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics website at https://deps.mofe.gov.bn. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
