Syria’s consumer price index rose 32.51 percent in May on an annual basis, although on a monthly basis prices actually declined, the Central Bureau of Statistics said.

The figures confirm the relative stability in prices observed in recent weeks and month although compared to last year the hike remains significant.

In April prices had risen 31.45 percent on an annual basis and in March they had increased by 30.7 percent. Compared to the month of April, however, prices declined 0.60 percent, CBS said.

After surging in the first few weeks of the year on the back of a rapid decline in the value of the Syrian Pound, prices began to stabilise in mid-March as the national currency regained some of its lost ground – it trades since then at around 70 pounds per US dollar from 47 pounds at the beginning of last year and 107 pounds in early March.

Lower food prices, in particular the reduction in the price of vegetables, are to be credited for the monthly decline. The entire breakdown by product categories is not yet available.

After a rise of 15 percent in 2008, inflation had returned to the mid-single digits in 2009 and 2010. The CPI serves as the only public indicator for inflation in Syria.