Iraq's Inflation index has increased remarkably, official statistics

Shafaq News/ The Ministry of Planning announced on Wednesday that the inflation index increased dramatically.

The Central Statistical Organization mentioned in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that the monthly inflation index rose by 0.9% last January compared to the previous month, along with the annual inflation index, which rose by 3.3% compared to the same month of 2020.

"The increase in dollar exchange rates since mid-December 2020 has caused a devaluation of local currency and an increase in the prices of goods and services for most of them are imported," they added.

The organization pointed out, "the increase of the monthly inflation index of December focused on the increase that happened in the goods and services department by 2.1% due to the rising costs of gold across Iraq."

"The health department also witnessed an increase of 1.3% as a result of the rise in the prices of the main medical products and services, which include pharmaceutical products such as blood pressure and diabetes medication, high physician wages in community-based clinics, and high services wages in community-based hospitals." They proceeded.

They explained further, "The housing department recorded a rise of 1.4% due to the rise in the water, electricity, fuel and rental fees by 0.2%, along with the education department which also increased as a result of the rise in the fees of private lessons in many governorates."

The organization confirmed that the rise of the annual index for January compared to the same month in 2020 came as a result of the increase in the tobacco department by 11.2%, as well as the annual rise in the housing department by 0.3%, and the health department by 13.6%."

They added that the transportation department recorded an annual increase of 9.7%, and the communications department recorded an annual rise of 5.8%. In comparison, the department of entertainment and culture rose by 11.1%, and the department of services and goods increased by 13.7%."

The organization of Statistics and Information Technology announced that it began using mechanization in collecting different prices at specific times instead of the paper format used previously, stressing that this will contribute to the speed of gathering and the accuracy of prices and correcting miscalculations