Israel’s cost-of-living index rose by a low 0.5 percent in October, the Central Bureau of Statistics announced Sunday.
The increment was half the 1 percent rise that had been anticipated by the Finance Ministry and economists.
The increase was attributed to an 8.2 percent seasonal rise in the cost of fruit and vegetables, a 3.6 percent pre-winter increase in clothing and footwear and a 1.7 increase in housing costs.
These increases were offset by small decreases in a number of other components of the index.
Monthly increases since the beginning of the year have amounted to 7.5 percent, and recent figures and forecasts for the coming months indicate an annual inflationary rate for 1992 of about 9 percent.
The bureau said it now costs an average family of four a total of $1,800 to get through the month.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
