The general price level as measured in terms of the National Consumer Price Index
(NCPI, 2013=100) increased in January 2020, moved on a declining trend until April and increased thereafter in line with the prices of items in the Food category. Within the Food category, prices of Volatile Food items exhibited mixed movements, while prices of other food items exhibited an overall increasing trend during the period from January to September 2020. With a notable increase at the beginning of the year, prices of items in the Non-food category remained mostly unchanged during the period from April to June 2020, mainly due to the lower demand for non-essential goods and services and non-adjustment of administered prices with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. NCPI based year-on-year headline inflation remained above mid-single digit level during the period from January to September 2020. Meanwhile, headline inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in the Colombo C