TUNIS: The inflation rate remained stable at 6.7% in October 2024, the National Institute of Statistics (INS) said on Tuesday. This stability is partly attributed to the accelerated price hikes in the "restaurants, cafés, and hotels" group and food products, alongside a slowdown in price increases for the "Clothing and Footwear" category. According to Agence Tunis Afrique Presse, the price of food products saw a year-on-year increase of 9.3%, with notable rises in lamb (21.4%), dried fruits (15.2%), poultry (14.1%), fresh fish (13.9%), vegetables (13.1%), beef (11%), and fruits (6.8%). Conversely, egg prices experienced a decline of 5.7%. Manufactured products also witnessed a price increase of 6% year-on-year, influenced by the rise in clothing and footwear prices (9.5%) and household cleaning products (8.1%). The services sector saw a 5.4% rise, significantly impacted by the "restaurants, cafés, and hotels" group, which increased by 11.1%. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, experienced a slig ht uptick to 6.3% in October 2024, up from 6.2% the previous month. Deregulated products saw a year-on-year increase of 7.7%, while regulated product prices rose by 3.5%. Unregulated food products increased by 10.3%, compared to a 2.4% rise for regulated food products. In October 2024, consumer prices climbed by 0.8% month-on-month, driven by increases in the "clothing and footwear" group (6.2%), the "restaurants, cafés, and hotels" group (2.5%), and food products (0.2%). The slight month-on-month rise in food prices was due to increases in poultry (1.1%), eggs (1.1%), fresh vegetables (1%), fresh fruit (0.5%), and fresh fish (0.5%). Edible oil prices, however, fell by 2.1%. The 2.5% rise in the "restaurants, cafés, and hotels" group was attributed to increased service prices within restaurants and cafés (3.2%). The 6.2% increase in the "clothing and footwear" group is linked to the conclusion of summer sales, leading to rises in clothing (6.1%), footwear (7.3%), fabrics (1%), and various accessories (2%).