Cambodia's inflation increases by 1.6%

Cambodia's inflation rate had increased by 1.6 percent in November 2012 if compared with November 2011 due to moderate increases in food and petroleum prices, according to the latest statistics of the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) on Tuesday. The statistics said the total consumer price increased by 1.6 percent from November 2011 to November 2012 due to a 1.2 percent increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages, a 2 percent rise in rice, a 15 percent surge in fresh beef, and a 1.5 percent rise in fish and seafood. It added that the price of fruit went up by 5 percent, price of vegetable rose by 5.2 percent, price of clothing and footwear increased by 3.1 percent, and price of gasoline increased by 4.9 percent. A liter of gasoline costs 1.36 U.S. dollars in Cambodia on Tuesday. "The 1.6 percent inflation rate in November 2012 was due to the increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, clothing and footwear and gasoline," the statistics concluded. Khin Song, NIS's deputy director-general, said that the rate was good and reflected price stability in the market. "It is very good and manageable. This reflects good economic performance this year," he said, estimating that the inflation rate in 2012 was around 3 percent. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Keat Chhon said on Dec. 7 at the National Assembly's session that the country's inflation rate would be as low as 2.9 percent in 2012, predicting that the economy would grow by 7 percent in equivalent to 15.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2012. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Monetary Fund projected in October that the country's inflation was 3 percent and 3.5 percent respectively in 2012 due to moderate price increases for food and fuel.