Even though prices of various basic food items increased in the month of May, the Bureau of Statistics believes the devaluation in April did not have an impact on a lot of imported goods.

The Consumer Price Index for May shows that there was a 1.3 percent increase in the price of bakery and wheat products, cereals, fresh and preserved meat, fresh and preserved fruits, mineral water, dairy products, fats and oils, tea, coffee, milo, ovaltine, cocoa, spices and confectionary.

There was also a 1.3 percent increase in price for restaurant meals and market items like English cabbage, cucumber, bele, pumpkin, onion, garlic, potatoes and split peas.

And parents would have felt the pinch as the data shows that there was a 4.7% increase in the price for stationary along with medical goods, toiletries, laundry goods and other household items.

The price of clothing and footwear, second hand vehicles, spare parts, alcohol and tobacco, and durable household goods increased by an average 1 percent last month.