Latest index value and inflation rates for Q3 2026

The latest estimate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been released by the St Helena Statistics Office, for the third quarter of 2026 (Q3 2026). The CPI has been measured at 107.2, an increase of 0.6% on the previous quarter (Q2 2026) and a 2.1% increase compared to a year ago (Q3 2026). This annual inflation rate of 2.1% is a decrease in the rate of 0.7 percentage points compared to the rate measured in Q2 2026, which was 2.8%.

Price changes over the last year

All groups of representative items saw their average prices rise compared to a year ago, apart from Communications which remained unchanged. The highest average annual increase was in Alcohol and Tobacco (9.1%), which includes the increases to customs duty rates for alcoholic beverages and tobacco which took effect from 1st April 2026. Clothing saw an average annual increase of 2.7% compared to a year ago, although this category has a small weighting. Household Energy also saw an average annual increase at 2.5%; this category includes gas, firewood, and electricity. Increases in the prices of petrol and diesel at the pumps (by 2p and 16p per litre respectively) saw average prices in the Transport category increase by 2.3% during the year. Annual price inflation in the Food category was estimated at 1.9% between Q3 2025 and Q3 2026.

Price changes over the last quarter

The quarterly change in the CPI was 0.6%, comparing the index value in Q3 2026 to its value in Q2 2026. During the period between Q2 2026 and Q3 2026, 35 representative items saw an increase in price, 17 saw a decrease and 153 item remained unchanged. The largest increases were Household Energy, which rose by 2.2% over the quarter and included an increase in the price of electricity, Transport, which saw a 2.0% increase, and Household Goods and Services at 1.2%. Food remained unchanged between Q2 2026 and Q3 2026, however there were both price increases and decreases throughout the category.

Price changes in the UK and South Africa

Changes in prices in both the UK and South Africa have an impact on the price index on St Helena, since the majority of goods imported are purchased in those two countries. In August 2026 the annual consumer price inflation in the UK was measured at 3.1% (UK Office for National Statistics), up from 2.9% from the previous month. In South Africa, annual consumer price inflation was measured at 4.4% in August 2026 (Statistics South Africa), up from 4.3% in July 2026.

For South African goods, the Rand/Pound exchange rate is an additional factor: during the twelve months between Q3 2025 and Q3 2026 the average exchange rate was 22.2 Rand per Pound, slightly less than the average value for the previous twelve months (23.6). This will tend to provide upward pressure on the prices of South African goods bought by consumers on St Helena.

Revision to the CPI series, Q3 2025 to Q2 2026

A small change has been made to the calculations underlying the CPI, in the Housing and Household Energy categories, from Q3 2025 onwards. The impact on the CPI and the resulting annual inflation rates is small, and is shown in the table below.

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?

Please contact us, including if you need data in other formats or have specific queries.