Sri Lanka's annual inflation rate measured on a 12-month moving average stood at 15.8 percent in December on a new index, up from 15.4 percent in November due to higher food prices, the government said on Monday. Consumer prices rose 18.8 percent in December from a year earlier, lower than an annual rise of 19.3 percent in November the Census and Statistics Department said.
"The price of wheat and other foods has increased significantly, and that contributed to the annual inflation," said D.C.A. Gunawardhana, a director at the department. The Census and Statistics Department introduced the new index last month, saying the old measure was outdated.
Under the old index, which will be phased out in March, the annual inflation rate measured on a 12-month moving average stood at 17.5 percent in December, slightly down from 17.7 percent in November. Consumer prices, according to the old index, rose 16.4 percent in December from a year earlier, lower than an annual rise of 19.3 percent in November.
Analysts have dismissed the new index as a gimmick. "You can't curb inflation by just changing index," said Channa Amarathunga, an economist at Boston Capital. Despite high inflation, the central bank held its key policy rates steady for the 10th successive month on Wednesday, keeping the overnight repurchase rate at 10.5 percent and reverse repurchase rate at 12 percent.