The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has shown a rise in inflation during May after declining every month since the start of the year.
According to the CPI for May released by the National Bureau of Statistics, inflation was 1.5 percent higher by the end of May compared to the previous month.
A spike in electricity and water charges was the reason for inflation climbing in May, the statistics bureau noted. While the unit price of electricity increased 37.44 percent, the unit price of water increased even further by 45.70 percent.
Aside from education and fish among the main groups, the only other group with price hikes was the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group with a 7.53 percent increase in prices during May.
The largest price drops in May were seen in the food, food products and transport groups. Only minor changes in price were recorded in other groups.
Higher inflation in May driven by steep water and electricity bills came after widespread complaints over hefty electricity bills for March, April and May. The higher charges were due to hotter days during the period, the electricity service provider said at the time.
The government also provided a discount for March and April's bills.
