LIMA – Peru finished 2014 with an inflation rate of 3.22 percent, a figure that was above the 1 percent to 3 percent band established by the Central Reserve Bank, the National Statistics and Informatics Institute, or INEI, reported Thursday.

The inflation rate in December was 0.23 percent, pushing the monthly average rise in prices during the January-December 2014 period to 0.26 percent.

Chicken, vegetables, fresh legumes, fruits, food eaten outside the home, educational services and electricity were the categories that experienced the highest price increases, the INEI said.

The categories whose prices rose the most in 2014 were food and beverages (4.84 percent); entertainment, cultural services and education (3.37 percent); healthcare (3.24 percent); and residential rents, fuel and electricity (2.53 percent).

Price increases were also registered in the other goods and services (2.44 percent); clothing and footwear (2.06 percent); furniture, basic tools and housing maintenance (1.7 percent); and transportation and communications (0.68 percent) categories.

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