Consumer price indices - inflation - August 2018

Housing dominated year-on-year price growth

10.09.2018
Code: 012024-18
 

Consumer prices in August increased by 0.1% compared with July. This development was influenced especially by higher prices in 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels'. The year-on-year growth of consumer prices accelerated to 2.5% in August, which was 0.2 percentage points up on July.

The month-on-month increase in 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels' came from higher prices of electricity by 0.5%, actual rentals for housing by 0.4% and heat and hot water by 0.4%. In 'recreation and culture', prices of package holidays went up by 2.2%. In 'miscellaneous goods and services', prices of personal care increased by 0.7%. In food, prices of non-alcoholic beverages went up by 3.7%, cheese and curd by 1.2% and meat by 0.3% in particular.

The decrease in the overall consumer price level in August was influenced by a moderate drop in four divisions of consumer basket. The price drop in 'transport' was mainly influenced by lower car prices by 1.0%. In 'alcoholic beverages and tobacco', prices of spirits decreased by 2.4%. In 'clothing and footwear', prices of garments went down by 0.7% and prices of shoes and other footwear by 1.7%. In 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', prices of vegetables were lower by 4.5%, fruit by 2.5%, sugar by 6.2%, bread and cereals by 0.3%.

Prices of goods in total went down by 0.2%, while prices of services went up by 0.5%.

In terms of the year-on-year comparison, in August, the consumer prices increased by 2.5%, i.e. 0.2 percentage points up on July. The acceleration in the year-on-year growth in 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels' was influenced in August by higher actual rentals for housing by 3.5% (3.2% in July), electricity by 5.6% (5.1% in July), solid fuels by 4.3% (3.9% in July) and heat and hot water prices, which turned from a price decline by 0.2% in July into a price rise by 0.1% in August. In 'miscellaneous goods and services', prices of personal care rose by 3.9% in particular (2.3% in July). The acceleration in the year-on-year growth was influenced also by prices in 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', where prices have turned from a decline by 0.1% in July to growth in August by 0.6%. This was mainly attributed to vegetable prices, which reduced their decline to −0.3% (−7.4% in July) due to potato prices, which grew by 7.2%, year-on-year, in August (−14.7% in July). The slowdown in the year-on-year price increase was in 'alcoholic beverages and tobacco', where prices of spirits went up by 0.7% (2.8% in July) and tobacco products by 3.4% (3.6% in July).

The biggest influence on the growth of the y-o-y price level in August (even stronger than in July) came, as before, from prices in 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels' (3.2% up).

Next in order of influence were the prices in 'transport', where prices of fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment went up by 12.4%, year-on-year. The increase in the price level came also from prices in 'recreation and culture', where prices of package holidays were higher by 13.6% and prices in 'miscellaneous goods and services' (increase by 3.8%).

A reduction in the price level in August came from prices in 'clothing and footwear', where prices of garments decreased by 2.4%. In 'communication', prices of telephone and telefax services dropped by 1.4% in particular. In 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels', prices of natural gas decreased by 0.8%.

Prices of goods in total and services went up (1.8% and 3.7%, respectively). The overall consumer price index excluding imputed rentals for housing was 102.3%, year-on-year.

Inflation rate, i.e. the increase in the average consumer price index in the twelve months to August 2018 compared with the average CPI in the previous twelve months, amounted to 2.3% in August.

According to preliminary data of Eurostat, the year-on-year change in the average harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP)1) in the EU28 member states amounted to 2.2% in July, which is 0.1 percentage point higher than in June. The rise in prices was the highest in Romania (4.3%) and the lowest price increase was in Greece (0.8%). In Slovakia, the price rise decreased to 2.6% in July from 2.9% in June. In Germany, prices were higher by 2.1% (2.1% in June). According to preliminary calculations, the HICP in the Czech Republic in August was 0.0% month-on-month and by 2.4%, year-on-year. The MUICP (Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices) flash estimate for the Eurozone in August 2018 amounted to 2.0%, y-o-y, as Eurostat announced (more information on the Eurostat’s web pages: HICP.)

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1) Imputed rentals are excluded from the HICP.

Notes:
Responsible manager of the CZSO: Jiri Mrazek, Director of Price Statistics Department, email: jiri.mrazek@czso.cz
Contact: Pavla Sediva, Head of the Consumer Price Statistics Unit, phone (+420) 274052138, email: pavla.sediva@czso.cz
Data source: Direct field survey of prices, centrally surveyed prices and reporting
End of data collection: 20th day of the reference month / End of data processing: 3rd day of the month that follows the reference month
Related publications: 012018-18 Consumer Price Indices – Basic Breakdown (periodicity: monthly), 012023-18 Consumer price Indices – Detailed Breakdown (periodicity: monthly) and 012019-18 Consumer Price Indices – Detailed Breakdown (periodicity: annually)
Internet: https://www.czso.cz/csu/czso/inflation-consumer-prices
Next News Release: 9 October 2018

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  •      aisc091018.docx
  • Annexes:
  • Table 1 Consumer Price Index (indices, inflation rate)
  • Table 2 Consumer Price Index (breakdown of the growth – month-on-month, core inflation)
  • Table 3 Consumer Price Index (breakdown of the growth – month-on-month, year-on-year)
  • Table 4 Consumer Price Index (social groups of households – indices, inflation rate)
  • Table 5 Consumer Price Index (analytical table, specific consumer price indices)
  • Chart 1 Consumer Price Index (year-on-year changes, changes on base year)
  • Chart 2 Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices – International comparison
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Published: 10.09.2018
The data are valid as of the release date of the publication.


Contact: Information Services Unit - Headquarters, tel.: +420 274 056 789, email: infoservis@czso.cz