The CPI picked up compared to 2020 largely due to a 31.7 percent surge in fuel prices this year which made up a 1.14 percentage point increase in the overall CPI. The CPI hike was also driven by domestic retail prices of gas which have been revised up nine times throughout the year. Rice, construction materials and education service prices increased 5.79 percent, 7.03 percent and 1.87 percent, respectively, against last year. Meanwhile, prices of food dropped 0.54 percent year-on-year. The pandemic has forced people to refrain from travelling, resulting in contractions of 21.15 percent in air fares and 2.32 percent in holiday packages. The General Statistics Office said the core inflation grew by 0.81 percent in 2021, the lowest since 2011./.