ALL-TIME  HIGHER AND HIGHER!

Alas, the unique cost of living index continues its skyrocket ride

Is the sky the limit? The PepperCube Cost of Living Index (CLI) has surpassed last month’s all-time high of 93.2 and climbed to 95.3! This steady climb has been evident since January when the CLI breached the 90 mark in December.

Moreover, the April CLI is almost 20 points higher than where it stood a year ago at 75.4.

The Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) has shot up yet again, from 18.7 percent year on year in March to a heretofore unseen 29.8 percent in April – an unprecedented spike even from the high in March, which now seems more palatable and tolerable in the context of data versus ground realities.

Ninety-seven percent of all poll participants (i.e. 97% vs. 96% in March) consulted by PepperCube during the course of April say that the cost of living of their families has escalated ‘highly’ or ‘moderately’ in the last 12 months.

And as far as the cost of living in the next 12 months is concerned, 95 percent (the percentage remaining static from March) of those polled say they expect an escalation of their household expenditure with the ‘highly’ group jumping four percentage points up (from 80% in March to 84% in April).

With regard to the capacity to purchase non-food goods and services considering the skyrocketing cost of living, individual economic status and ability to save in the next 12 months, nearly 60 percent (59%) say they will have no chance at all (up seven percentage points from the 52% of March).

In February the survey outcome revealed that only 35 percent of the sample population said they will ‘not have a chance at all.’

FOOTNOTE An index based on a monthly survey, the CLI aims to measure and under- stand perceptions regarding the cost of living as opposed to reported or official inflation.

LMD