The Central Bureau of Statistics will announce the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August tomorrow. Most analysts estimate that the CPI rose by 0.6-0.7% in August, a high rise for the month compared with previous years.
The 6% rise in fuel prices is mainly responsible for the surge in inflation. The rise in food prices is a contributing factor, including the 6.5% hike in the price of price-controlled bread.
The government is also responsible for the 10-15% jump in the price of cigarettes, by raising taxes, as part of its effort to stem the ballooning budget deficit. The housing item - rent - the most influential item in the CPI, accounting for almost a quarter of it, rose by 0.5%, due to the renewal of leases and the signing of new one at higher prices, greatly contributed to the jump in inflation.
Clothing and footwear prices, however, continued to fall.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 13, 2012
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