Latest index value and inflation rates for Q2 2026
The latest estimate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been released by the St Helena Statistics Office, for the second quarter of 2026 (Q2 2026). The CPI has been measured at 106.4, an increase of 0.5% on the previous quarter (Q1 2026) and a 2.7% increase compared to a year ago (Q2 2025). This annual inflation rate of 2.7% is an increase in the rate of 0.4 percentage points compared to the rate measured in Q1 2026, which was 2.3%.
Price changes over the last year
All groups of representative items saw their average prices rise compared to a year ago, apart from Communications and Miscellaneous Goods and Services which remained unchanged. The highest average annual increase was in Alcohol and Tobacco (9.8%), with price increases across the board within the category. This is consistent with the increases to customs duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which took effect from 1st April 2026. Household Energy was the second highest average annual increase at 8.5%; this category includes gas and firewood, and the price of electricity – the commodity with the highest individual weight in the current basket of goods and services – was increased at the beginning of Q3 2025.
Annual inflation in the Food category rose by 1.4 percentage points to an estimated 2.2% in Q2 2026. Food makes up over a third of the basket, and this change is partly due to an increase in the price of some common food items such as local tuna fish and imported pork. This is the largest annual increase in the Food category since Q3 2025, when it was 6.9%.
Price changes over the last quarter
The quarterly change in the CPI was 0.5%, comparing the index value in Q1 2026 to its value in Q2 2026. The largest increases were in Alcohol and Tobacco, which rose by 3.5% over the quarter, Clothing, which saw a 3.1% increase, followed by Housing at 1.1% and Food at 1.0%. During the period between Q1 2026 and Q2 2026, 39 representative items saw an increase in price, 25 saw a decrease and 140 item remained unchanged.
Price changes in the UK and South Africa
Changes in both the UK and South Africa can contribute strongly to the price index on St Helena, since the majority of goods imported are purchased in those two countries. In May 2026 annual consumer price inflation in the UK was measured at 2.8% (UK Office for National Statistics), unchanged from the 12 months to April. In South Africa, annual consumer price inflation was measured at 4.5% in May 2026 (Statistics South Africa), up from 4.0% in April 2026. Changes in the value of the Rand compared to the Pound can have a large effect on the change in the price of goods purchased in South Africa, but during the twelve months between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026 the Pound averaged 22.7 Rand, slightly less than the average value for the previous twelve months (23.5).
Methodology
For details about the data collection and computation process for producing the Consumer Price Index and the inflation rate, please click here.
Where can I get the data?
For detailed tables of the Consumer Price Index and annual inflation rates from 1994 onwards, please download the data series in an Excel-formatted spreadsheet here: https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/documents/inflation (note that prior to 2024, the series was known as the Retail Price Index). Other datasets, bulletins and reports are also available on our website at www.sainthelena.gov.sh/statistics/resources.
Have more questions or comments?
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