Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2013=100) decreased to 3.9 per cent in April 2021 from 4.1 per cent in March 2021. This was driven by monthly decreases of prices of items in the Food category. Meanwhile, Food inflation (Y-o-Y) decreased to 9.0 per cent in April 2021 from 9.6 per cent in March 2021, while Non-food inflation (Y-o-Y) remained unchanged at 1.8 per cent in April 2021.
The change in the CCPI measured on an annual average basis decreased marginally to 3.9 per cent in April 2021 from 4.0 per cent in March 2021.
Monthly change of CCPI recorded a marginal decline in April 2021. This was due to price decreases observed in items of the Food category. Within the Food category, prices of coconut, vegetables, red onion and big onion decreased in April 2021. Meanwhile, prices of items in the Non-Food category recorded an increase during the month mainly due to price increase observed in the Transport (lubricant oil) sub-category.
The core inflation (Y-o-Y), which reflects the underlying inflation in the economy, decreased marginally to 3.0 per cent in April 2021 from 3.1 per cent in March 2021. Meanwhile, annual average core inflation remained unchanged at 3.0 per cent in April 2021.