Inflation continued its upward trend in February, official data released on Wednesday showed, as fears about the rising cost of living continued to spark concern.

The retail price index rose by 4.22 per cent in February, the National Statistics Office said, outpacing the 3.88 per cent rise registered the previous month. In February 2021, the RPI barely moved, registering a 0.19 per cent increase.

Rising food and restaurant prices were the single largest impacting factor to the February rise, contributing a 1.72 percentage point increase in the RPI.

But the single largest increase in inflation in February was registered in housing, which saw an increase of 9.25 per cent in that month alone. Despite that steep one-month rise, housing ranks below food in its overall impact on inflation because the RPI gives greater weight to the latter.

There were no downward impacts on annual inflation registered in February.

Concerns about rising inflation and the cost of food have been voiced since the turn of the year and have only grown since, with importers warning that war in Ukraine could lead to further increases in the price of food staples such as bread.

Despite the steep rise in February’s RPI, Malta’s rate of inflation continues to lag behind that of many of its EU peers: according to Eurostat, Eurozone inflation hit 5.9 per cent that month. Malta’s inflation is kept in check by the government subsidising energy prices, which are the most significant contributor to inflation across the EU.

The RPI measures monthly price changes in the cost of purchasing a representative basket of consumer goods and services, and is closely linked with the Cost-of-Living Adjustment increases and periodic rent payment adjustments.

It is similar, albeit distinct, from the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).