The annual rate of inflation as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices in January remained at a constant rate of 3.7%, according to the National Statistics Office.

The NSO said on Thursday that the highest annual inflation rates in January were recorded in food and non-alcoholic beverages (10.1%) and education (5.6%).

On the other hand, the lowest annual inflation rates were registered in communication (-9.4%) and clothing and footwear (-0.8%).

The largest upward impact on annual inflation in January was registered in the food and non-alcoholic beverages Index (+1.8 percentage points), largely due to higher vegetable prices.

The second and third largest impacts were measured in the restaurants and hotels Index (+0.69 percentage points) and the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels Index (+0.44 percentage points), mainly on account of higher prices of restaurant services and rents, respectively.

The downward impacts on annual inflation were registered in the communication Index (-0.38 percentage points), the clothing and footwear Index (-0.04 percentage points) and the recreation and culture Index (-0.03 percentage points), mainly reflecting lower prices of mobile phone services, footwear and package holidays, respectively (Chart 2).