Inflation in Fiji advances to 1.5%

 INFLATION in Fiji advanced to 1.5% year-on-year while most inflation profiles for the Pacific region remained low compared to historical norms.

According to ANZ’s Asia Pacific Research – Pacific Monthly –  which was released yesterday, this had led by price increases in food, alcohol drinks and tobacco, suggesting price pressures were coming from the supply side rather than the demand side.

“In the Solomon Islands, inflation was flat at 5.9% year-on-year after spiking earlier in the year, helped by the delayed effect of falling fuel prices … all urban areas reported increases in prices,” the report said.

“In terms of trade flows, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Vanuatu released the first look at 2013 trade over the past month – all underperforming.

“For Fiji, trade was weighed down by the cyclone while traditional exports such as sugar and gold performed below historical norms.”

The report said export receipts in Vanuatu fell further, weighed on by declines in shipments of copra, coconut oil, beef and live fish.

Vanuatu’s imports posted a 4% increase, the report said. – Fiji Times Online