The inflation rate decreased to 7.5% in February 2024, according to a press release issued by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Tuesday. The inflation rate continues its downward trend, going from 7.8% in January 2024 to 7.5%. This decline in inflation, despite the monthly increase, is attributed to the slowdown in the pace of price increases between February and January 2024 compared to the same period last year. Food prices up 10.2% Food prices rose by 10.2% year-on-year in February 2024. This rise was mainly due to a 35% increase in coffee powder prices, a 22.5% increase in sheepmeat prices, a 21.8% increase in edible oils, an 18.5% increase in condiments, a 15.2% rise in fresh vegetables prices, a 12.2% increase in beef prices and an 11.7% growth in fresh fish prices. Rise in manufactured goods and services' prices Over the year as a whole, prices of manufactured goods rose by 7.4%, driven by a 4.7% increase in the price of building materials, a 10% rise in the price of clothing and a 9. 7% increase in the price of household products. In services, prices rose by 5.4% year-on-year, mainly due to the 10.4% increase in prices for restaurants, cafés and hotels, the 13.8% rise in financial services and the 9.1% rise in health services. Core inflation stands at 7%. The core inflation rate (excluding food and energy) rose to 7% from 6.8% the previous month. Prices for free (unregulated) products went up by 8.4% year-on-year. Prices of regulated products rose by 4.4%. Free food products increased by 11.2%, compared with 3.6% for food products with regulated prices. In terms of contributions to inflation by sector, the "Manufactured goods" group and the "Services" group were the sectors that made the greatest contribution to overall inflation, at 2.8% and 1.9% respectively. By scheme, the contributions to inflation show that the 'Free Non-Food' group and the 'Free Food' group are the groups that have made the greatest contribution to inflation, at 3.8% and 2.7% respectively. On the other hand, the "regulated food" group made the smallest contribution at 0.1%. Consumer prices rise by 0.2% over one month In February 2024, consumer prices rose by 0.2%, following an increase of 0.6% in the previous month. This increase is mainly attributable to a 0.7% rise in food prices and a 5.2% rise in the price of health services. On the other hand, clothing prices fell by 4.5%, as a result of the winter sales. Food prices up 0.7% Over one month, food prices rose by 0.7%, following increases of 3.8% for sheepmeat, 1.6% for beef, 1.2% for edible oils, 0.9% for fresh vegetables and 0.9% for fish. By contrast, fresh fruit prices fell by 1.1% and poultry prices by 0.9%. Prices of health products and services increase 5.2% Prices in the Healthcare group rose by 5.2%, due to a 10.5% increase in the price of medicines and a 0.2% increase in the price of private ambulatory services. Clothing prices down 4.5 In February, clothing prices fell by 4.5%, due to the start of the winter sales season. Clothing prices w ere down by 4.8%, footwear by 4.7%, clothing accessories by 1.7% and fabrics by 0.9%. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse