In February, headline inflation fell to 2.8 percent from 3.6 percent in January. Inflation was lower across a range of commodity groups, including: food and non-alcoholic beverages (from 2.3 to 2.2 percent); alcoholic beverages and tobacco (from 8.3 to 7.0 percent); housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (from 3.9 to 3.7 percent); and transport (from -1.2 to -5.5 percent, reflecting a cut in fuel prices). However, this was partially offset by rising inflation for: clothing and footwear (from 6.6 to 7.3 percent); furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance (from 5.9 to 6.8 percent); recreation and culture (from 3.1 to 3.3 percent); restaurants and hotels (from 4.5 to 5.6 percent); and miscellaneous goods and services (from 5.8 to 5.9 percent). Inflation was unchanged for: health (6.4 percent); communication (zero percent); and education (6.3 percent).

The trimmed mean measure of core inflation fell from 3.6 to 3.2 percent, while inflation excluding administered prices remained unchanged at 4.8 percent.