March CPI reading shows inflation easing

The Central Bureau of Statistics announced this afternoon that the Israeli Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.4% in March 2023. This falls within the range of expectations, with analysts expecting a rise between 0.3% and 0.6%. In the past 12 months, the consumer price index has increased by 5%, down from 5.2% last month. This is the lowest annual inflation rate since last September, when annual inflation reached 4.6%.

There were notable rises in the prices of clothing and footwear (4.1%), culture and leisure (0.9%), and housing costs (0.6%) in March.

There was a noticeable decrease in the prices of fresh fruits last month (2.8%), and furniture and household maintenance products (1.6%).

Changes in housing prices are published at the same time as the consumer price index but are not included in it. In January-February 2023, home prices declined by 0.2% compared to December-January 2022/2023, and increased by 12.7% compared to January-February 2022.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 14, 2023.

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