The food service and hotel sector saw a 0.48% price increase in October, driven mainly by the higher cost of eating out, while overall inflation reached 0.58%, according to the Central Bank
SANTO DOMINGO.– Restaurant and hotel services registered a price increase of 0.48% during October 2026, driven mainly by the higher cost of meals prepared outside the home, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report published by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD).
The monetary authority explained that among the services that influenced this behavior were the daily special and food preparations with accompaniments, whose increases contributed to the variation recorded in this group.
This result occurred during a period in which monthly inflation reached 0.58%, while the year-on-year change stood at 5.14% between October 2025 and the same month in 2026, slightly above the 5.12% observed in September.
The report also notes that other components linked to household consumption also experienced increases, particularly food and non-alcoholic beverages, miscellaneous goods and services, and household items.
Food services affect restaurant and hotel prices
According to the Central Bank report, the Restaurants and Hotels group showed a monthly variation of 0.48%, mainly associated with increases in the prices of prepared food services outside the home.
Among the items identified by the institution are the daily special and the food services with accompaniments, products that are part of the regular consumption of those who frequent food establishments.
In this sense, the behavior of this component reflects the increased cost of certain gastronomic services during the analyzed period.
However, the document attributes the group's increase mainly to food services, without specifying an individual variation corresponding to hotel accommodation prices.
Food and other services also see increases
On the other hand, the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages group showed a variation of 0.41%, due to price increases in products such as plantains, sweet potatoes, green pigeon peas, green bananas, eggs and rice, among others.
Similarly, Miscellaneous Goods and Services experienced an increase of 0.46%, while Furniture and Household Items registered an increase of 0.40%.
These results were part of the general behavior of prices during October, a period in which various consumer goods and services showed variations that affected the budget of Dominican households.
Year-on-year inflation reaches 5.14%
Regarding the overall performance of the economy, the Central Bank reported that the consumer price index accumulated a year-on-year variation of 5.14% at the close of October 2026, compared to 5.12% recorded in September.
However, core year-on-year inflation fell for the third consecutive month and stood at 4.54%, remaining within the target range of 4.0% ± 1.0% set by the monetary authority.
This indicator, which excludes certain goods and services whose prices are more volatile or subject to regulations, experienced a monthly increase of 0.45%.
Ozama region registers the highest monthly inflation
In the territorial breakdown, the Ozama region, made up of the National District and the province of Santo Domingo, showed the greatest variation in the consumer price index during October, with 0.65%.
The Cibao region followed, with an increase of 0.61%, while the East registered 0.43% and the South reached 0.39%.
On the other hand, the results by socioeconomic strata reflected an inflation of 0.43% for the first quintile and 0.71% for the fifth, the latter being the one that showed the greatest variation during the month analyzed.
Thus, the Central Bank report shows that price increases during October encompassed various goods and services, including food establishments outside the home, in a context of year-on-year inflation exceeding 5%.
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