Bandar Seri Begawan: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2025 recorded a decrease of 0.1 percent compared to April 2024, driven by declines in both the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index and the Non-Food index. The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, Ministry of Finance and Economy, highlighted these changes in their recent release.
According to Radio Television Brunei, the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index saw a decline of 0.4 percent, while the Non-Food index decreased by 0.01 percent. On a month-on-month basis, however, the CPI in April 2025 increased by 0.3 percent compared to March 2025. This increase was primarily due to a 0.5 percent rise in the Non-Food index, despite the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index recording a decrease of 0.3 percent.
The increase in the Non-Food index was primarily driven by rising prices in Clothing and Footwear, as well as Transport. Conversely, the decline in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index was mainly attributed to lower prices of Vegetables, and Milk, Dairy Products, and Eggs. Specifically, the prices of meat, especially chicken, and eggs contributed significantly to the decrease.
Additionally, the Non-Food index's decrease was influenced by a decline in Transport prices, particularly those related to motor cars, and the cost of online media streaming subscription services, which were affected by exchange rate differences. The full report on the CPI for April 2025 is available on the JPES website at 'deps.mofe.gov.bn'.