Rising costs drive inflation figure up

INCREASED health, medicine and education costs have driven inflation to just under 5% — still the highest in the euro currency zone, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed yesterday.

But economists predicted worse is to come with price rises set to average over 6% in the first quarter of 2003 much of it fuelled by VAT and other Budget increases.

The biggest month-on-month price increases were in education, which rose by 2%, with health care costs and prices for recreation and household furnishings also driving up inflation. Overall, the CSO said prices measured by the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.1% in November with a fall-off in the hotel and catering sector reflecting problems there.