Prices felt by consumers have outpaced the headline consumer inflation rate for the fifth consecutive year.

According to the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Thursday, the living cost index rose two-point-four percent last year from a year earlier, exceeding the consumer price index(CPI) increase of two-point-one percent.

The living cost index tracks frequently purchased goods and is seen as a gauge of perceived inflation.

The trend toward faster increases in living costs has continued since 2021. 

In 2020, the living cost index rose zero-point-four percent, slightly below the CPI increase of zero-point-five percent, but in 2021 it jumped three-point-two percent, surpassing the CPI rise of two and a half percent by zero-point-seven percentage points.

The gap widened further in 2022, when living costs surged six percent, compared with a five-point-one percent increase in the CPI. 

Although the gap narrowed in 2023 and 2024, living costs continued to outstrip overall consumer inflation.