The cost-of-living index soared by a hefty 4.7 percent in January, one of the highest monthly increases in the past three years.
While not unexpected, the figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday touched off partisan recriminations.
Two former Likud finance minsters, Yitzhak Moda’i and Moshe Nissim, blamed the inflationary surge on the “inept devaluation” of the shekel by incumbent Finance Minister Shimon Peres, a Laborite.
Devaluation was one of the first orders of business when Peres took office in December, and economic and industrial experts appear to be not disappointed with the results.
But it was not the only factor in the rise of the January price index.
Food prices rose about 10 percent because government price subsidies were slashed for budgetary reasons.
But the prices of fruit and vegetables were up because of heavy rain and wind storms and freezing temperatures.
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