The nationwide food inflation in Sri Lanka has peaked to 85.8 per cent in September, up from 84.6 per cent in August, it was reported on Wednesday. Headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year (Y-o-Y) change in the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), increased to 73.7 per cent in September from 70.2 per cent in August, the Daily FT reported. This increase in Y-o-Y inflation was driven by the monthly increases of both food and non-food categories. Accordingly, food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 85.8 per cent in September while non-food inflation (Y-o-Y) increased to 62.8 per cent in September from 57.1 per cent in August, the report said. The core inflation (Y-o-Y), which reflects the underlying inflation in the economy, increased to 64.1 per cent in September 2022 from 60.5 per cent in August, while annual average core inflation increased to 31.0 per cent in September from 26 per cent in August.
