WILLEMSTAD – Housing was the Curaçao household expenditure category showing the largest price increase in August, while lower transport and communication costs helped keep the island's overall Consumer Price Index unchanged.
According to figures released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), prices increased in two expenditure categories, declined in three and remained unchanged in the others during August 2026.
Housing recorded the largest monthly increase at 0.5 percent. Food prices increased by 0.1 percent.
At the other end of the spectrum, transport and communication recorded the strongest decline, falling by 0.6 percent. Household furnishings and household goods became 0.2 percent cheaper, while clothing and footwear prices decreased by 0.1 percent.
Prices for beverages and tobacco, healthcare, recreation and development, and the remaining expenditure category showed no change during the month, according to the CBS breakdown.
The opposing movements effectively balanced each other at the overall consumer-price level. Curaçao's CPI therefore remained at 106.9 in August, unchanged from July.
The development is significant for households because an unchanged overall CPI does not necessarily mean that every family's expenses remained unchanged. Spending patterns differ between households, meaning families that devote a larger portion of their income to housing or food could experience the August price developments differently from households whose spending is concentrated in categories where prices declined.
Over the longer term, Curaçao continues to experience moderate inflation. Consumer prices over the 12 months through August were on average 1.4 percent higher than during the corresponding period a year earlier.