The Isle of Man’s annual rate of inflation has dropped a little.

The latest government statistics show that the rate - as measured by the consumer prices index - stood at 4.4% in October.

That is down from 5% in September.

But the rise in the price of gas has yet to be seen in official inflation figures. In October, it was the same price as the year before.

The biggest jump was in ’oil and other fuels’, such as heating oil, which soared by 57.9%.

Petrol and oil was 19.9% more expensive than in October 2020.

Air travel was 48.8% more expensive while sea travel jumped 6.1%.

There was good news elsewhere, though. The cost of sticking plasters, as measured by the government’s number crunchers, fell by 17.2%

Meanwhile, he cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 0.9%, clothing and footwear was 7.5% cheaper, rent was 3% dearer and DIY materials jumped by 10.4%.