Consumer Price Index
For the month of December 2023, the Statistical Institute of Belize’s monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) survey showed that the All-Items CPI, which summarizes price levels across all categories of consumer goods and services, stood at 117.0. This was an increase from 112.8 in December 2022, indicating that the overall national inflation rate for the month was 3.7 percent.
The year ended with a slightly lower inflation rate in December when compared to the previous three months, continuing the gradual deceleration in the rate at which consumer prices are rising. Nonetheless, the trend observed throughout 2023 continued, as the growth in the CPI was primarily driven by higher food costs, followed by rising prices for restaurant services. On the other hand, prices within the ‘Transport’” category were down compared to December of 2022, slightly mitigating the impact of these increases.
Click the following link to read more: Consumer Price Index, December 2023
Merchandise Trade
Belize’s total imports for the month of December 2023 were valued at $230.6 million. This represented a 9.2 percent or $23.4 million decline from December 2022, when imports were valued at $254 million (see Figure 1). Imports continued to decrease across most commodity categories, with the most substantial reductions seen in ‘Mineral Fuels and Lubricants’ and ‘Commercial Free Zones’. Merchandise imports for the year 2023 amounted to $2.682 billion, a decrease of 4.1 percent or $113.3 million from $2.795 billion imported during the year 2022.
Domestic exports for the month of December 2023 totaled $24.4 million, down by 7.8 percent or $2.1 million when compared to exports for December 2022, which were valued at $26.4 million. Merchandise exports for the year 2023 totaled $408.6 million, a decrease of 16.1 percent or $78.6 million from $487.2 million recorded for the year 2022.
Click the following link to read more: External Trade, December 2023
