The year-on-year rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI) excluding fresh food turned positive in June last year and accelerated since then, and was plus 1.3 percent for December last year and January this year.
Not only have energy-related goods pushed up prices, but an improvement has also been seen in a wide range of items given that underlying upward pressure on prices has increased as the aggregate supply and demand balance has improved and inflation expectations have risen.