The second quarter inflation rate was 1.7 percent, and among the main contributors was a 10.3 percent rise in the communication index. The main contributors to the increase in the communication index were a 23.6 percent rise in the cost of telephone and telefax equipment and an 8.8 percent upward movement in telephone and telefax services. 

There was also a 9.4 percent upward movement in education, a 3.3 percent rise in housing and utilities, a 1.9 percent increase in health and miscellaneous good and services, a 1.8 percent rise in food and non-alchoholic beverages, a 1.2 percent increase in furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, and a 1.0 percent rise in recreation and culture. 

The 9.4 percent increase in the education index was largely due to the 13.6 percent rise in the index for secondary education. The index for pre-primary and primary education went up by 9.2 percent, and tertiary education, which went up by 5.2  percent, also contributed to the increase. 

A comparison of the second quarter of 2024 with the first quarter of 2024 indicates that the CPI rose by 0.1 percent, as the index for education went up by 3.0 percent, communication by 2.7 percent, miscellaneous goods and services increased by 1.7 percent, and health by 0.3 percent.  

More information from the Cayman Islands’ Consumer Price Index Report: January to March 2024 may be downloaded from www.eso.ky