Inflation up 0.6pc in June 2018

The consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.6 per cent in June 2018 as it reached 132.8 points, compared with May 2018, said a release on the economy issued by the Information and eGovernment Authority.

The inflation rate in consumer prices for the first six months of 2018 was 2.7pc compared with the same period of 2017, it said, adding that the CPI increased by 0.8pc in the second quarter of 2018, compared with the first quarter of 2017. The CPI and inflation rate - issued by the Information and eGovernment Authority follows a precise methodology and relies on the basket of goods and services out-ofwhich their prices are regularly collected allowing comprehensive calculation of the price indices with the demanded accuracy.

Such technical specifications and methodologies are the only authorised sources to monitor price developments and inflation rates in the Kingdom. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed the Kingdom authorities’ commitment to continue with subsidy reforms, cut non-productive spending, and raise non-oil revenues by introducing a Value Added Tax as early as 2019. 

Bahrain’s gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, shrank 1.2pc from a year earlier in the first quarter of 2018 as oil production sagged, Reuters reported citing data from the official statistics agency.

The oil sector of the economy shrank 14.7pc from a year ago, while the non-oil sector expanded 1.9pc, the news agency stated.