Consumer price index, 15 June 2002

The CPI stood at 110.1 (1998=100) in June in comparison with 109.7 in June last year. The CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) was 2.7 per cent in June.

The consumer prices slightly up from May to June

Costs for owner-occupied housing and rentals for housing increased both by 0.5 per cent in June. The tariffs on electricity on the other hand, continued to fall in June, by 1.3 per cent.

The prices of package holidays have gone up since last survey and the prices of accommodation services increased by 2.2 per cent in June.

The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 0.4 per cent, mainly as a result of higher prices of fresh vegetables and fresh fruits.

The prices in the transport sector decreased from May to June. After a decline in the petrol prices in May the prices continued to decrease in June, by 1.7 per cent. Airline fares went down 4.5 per cent in connection with the introduction of a new price concept 1 June.

The prices of clothing and footwear decreased on average by 0.6 per cent and lower prices of furniture as well as household appliances were also registered.

Year-to-year change: Prices up 0.4 per cent

Due to the July 2001 reduction in value added tax, the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have declined by 7.1 per cent during the last 12 months. The tariffs on electricity have this year, in contrast to last year, shown a more regular seasonal pattern and are in June 12.8 per cent lower than in June last year. The prices of petrol declined further in June and have decreased by 10.3 per cent on the year-to-year basis. The CPI excluding energy products (CPI-AE) has increased by 1.3 per cent since June last year. The price developments of clothing and audiovisual equipments have also contributed to dampen the price increase.

Rentals have been the main contributing factor to the CPI growth. Costs for owner-occupied housing and rentals for housing have increased by 5.6 and 5.0 per cent respectively. Prices in the service sector have also increased.

The CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) was 1.9 per cent in June. Lower taxes on petrol, electricity, alcohol and flights in addition to reduction in value-added tax on food therefore reduce the consumer price growth by 1.5 percentage points. CPI-ATE was 2.7 per cent.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI was unchanged from May to June. CPI-AT increased from 1.8 per cent in May to 1.9 per cent in June while CPI-ATE went up from 2.6 per cent to 2.7 per cent.