Consumer price index (CPI) in December rose 1.2 percent year-on-year and 0.3 percent compared with the month before, the Statistics Department said in a statement today.

For the year to December, CPI increased 1.2 percent year-on-year due to increases in the indices of all main groups, except for clothing and footwear, which fell 2.0 percent, and furniture, furnishings and household equipment and operation, which shrank 0.6 percent.

Among the notable increases were medical care and health expenses, which rose 1.7 percent, transport and communication, which gained 1.6 percent, beverages and tobacco, which grew 1.6 percent, food, which increased 1.3 percent, and miscellaneous goods and services, up 1.3 percent. - AFP