Prices of most basic commodities such as food, housing and utilities, and transportation in the Northern Marianas went up in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, based on the latest consumer price index report issued Monday by the Department of Commerce.
The fourth quarter 2009 CPI reached 105.6 percentage points, compared to fourth quarter 2008 when the CPI was rebased to 100 percentage points.
This is based on almost 1,200 price quotes collected from some 280 major retail outlets and other private and government establishments.
CPI measures price changes in a sample of goods and services normally purchased by households in the CNMI.
