Isle of Man inflation rises to 3.3% in December

Hospitality, education and food costs drive late-year increase, official figures show

Inflation on the Isle of Man rose to 3.3 percent in December 2025, according to the latest figures published by Statistics Isle of Man, marking an increase of 0.5 percentage points on the previous month.

The Consumer Prices Index (CPI), which measures changes in the cost of goods and services typically purchased by households, shows that while overall inflation remains well below the peaks seen in 2022 and 2023, price pressures intensified again towards the end of last year.

The largest contributor to the annual inflation rate was restaurants and hotels, where prices were 8.1 percent higher than a year earlier. Within that category, catering costs rose by 8.3 percent.

Communication was the second biggest contributor, increasing by 5.8 percent over the year.

Statistics Isle of Man reports that postage saw the largest rise within the category, up 5.9 percent, alongside higher telephone-related costs.

Education costs also rose notably, increasing by 4.9 percent year-on-year. Private education fees recorded a particularly sharp rise of nine percent, while pre-school fees were up 7.9 percent.

Food prices continued to add to household cost pressures, with food and non-alcoholic beverages increasing by 4.8 percent over the year. Significant increases were recorded for everyday items including beef, cheese, butter, and coffee, although some products such as soft drinks and sugar fell in price.

A number of categories helped to moderate the overall inflation rate. Gas prices were eight percent lower than a year earlier, while miscellaneous goods and services fell by 1.9 percent, exerting a small downward influence on CPI.

Transport costs rose by 3.2 percent over 12 months, while air travel prices increased sharply, and fuel costs remained relatively subdued compared with previous years.

Housing-related costs increased by 2.8 percent overall. However, rent prices continued to rise more strongly, up 7.2 percent compared with December 2024.

Separate figures for the Retail Prices Index (RPI) show annual inflation at 3.6 percent in December. RPI, which places greater weight on housing costs, recorded stronger increases in housing and household services than CPI.

Longer-term, Isle of Man inflation has eased significantly since peaking above 10 percent during 2022, and remained broadly between two and three percent for much of 2024 and 2025.

Statistics Isle of Man collects around 1,000 prices each month across approximately 500 goods and services, drawing on data from around 100 businesses and organisations.

The CPI basket and weightings are based on household spending patterns identified through the Household Income and Expenditure Survey.