sentences: during the first eight months of the year, the annual growth rate of the cpi averaged  2.32  mainly  owing  to  rising  food  prices  such  as  fruit  and  food  away  from  home,  housing  rent  hikes,  and  price  rises  in  personal  effects,  entertainment  services,  and  medical  fees,  which  combined  to  contribute  1.75  percentage  points,  or  about  75,  to  the rise in the cpi annual growth rate