Core inflation jumped to 5.0% M-o-M in January 2017 from 4.4% M-o-M in December 2016. Annual core inflation soared to 30.9% Y-o-Y, from 25.9% in the previous month. Core inflation excludes regulated items and the most volatile food items, namely fruit and vegetables, from the headline CPI. Regulated items prices accelerated to 0.7% M-o-M (19.6% Y-o-Y), from 0.1% M-o-M (18.7% Y-o-Y) in December. Fruit and vegetable prices jumped to 3.6% M-o-M (25.8% Y-o-Y), from 0.9% M-o-M (16.3% Y-o-Y) in December. Headline CPI accelerated to 4.1% M-o-M (28.1% Y-o-Y) from 3.1% M-o-M (23.3% Y-o-Y) in December. (CBE)