Consumer price index, 15 October 2002

The CPI stood at 110.6 (1998=100) in October in comparison with 108.6 in October last year. The CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) was 2.1 per cent in October.

The consumer prices up 0.4 per cent from September to October

The tariffs on electricity continued to rise considerably in October with 6.0 per cent. Costs for owner-occupied housing increased only marginally while rentals for housing were unchanged.

Prices of clothing and footwear increased further in October by 3.1 per cent. The prices of footwear went up by 3.9 per cent while the prices of clothing rose by 2.9 per cent. The prices are still below the price level before the summer sales.

Higher insurance premiums connected to transport were also registered since last survey in July 2002.

The prices of food went down by 0.8 per cent, mainly due to a seasonal price reduction of fresh vegetables. Prices of tomatoes dropped by 26.8 per cent, while prices of onion decreased by 17.6 per cent. The prices of fresh meat products also decreased. In addition, prices of cocoa went down in October.

Followed by a rise in the prices of petrol during the last two months, the prices went slightly down in October by 0.7 per cent.

Year-to-year change: Prices up 1.8 per cent

As previous months, rentals are the main contributing factors to the CPI growth. Costs for owner-occupied housing and rentals for housing have increased by 4.9 and 4.3 per cent respectively. The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have also been an important contributor to the overall growth with an increase of 2.8 per cent.

The petrol prices are in October 3.6 per cent higher than in October last year and contribute therefore to increase the consumer prices, in contrast with previous months.

There have been registered price increases for different services such as health and restaurant services, services connected to maintenance and repair of dwelling, in addition to higher insurance premiums.

The prices of clothing have gone in the other direction and the prices are 7.1 per cent lower in October this year compared with October last year. Airline fares have fallen by 15.1 per cent and the prices of audiovisual equipment and tariffs on electricity have also contributed to dampen the price increase.

The CPI excluding energy products (CPI-AE) has increased by 1.9 per cent during the last 12 months.

The CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) was 2.1 per cent in October. Lower taxes have therefore reduced the consumer price growth by 0.3 percentage points.

Change in the year-to-year growth: Increase

The year-to-year growth in the CPI went from 1.4 per cent in September to 1.8 per cent in October. This rise is mainly caused by the price development of energy products. The tariffs on electricity have this year, in comparison to last year, shown a more normal seasonal pattern. In October last year the tariffs fell by 0.8 per cent while in October this year the tariffs rose by 6.0 per cent. The petrol prices decreased by 4.8 per cent last year while the prices only fell slightly this year.

The prices of clothing and footwear have also contributed to the change in the year-to-year growth as the prices increased more strongly in October this year compared to last year.

CPI-AT increased from 1.8 per cent in September to 2.1 per cent in October while CPI-ATE went from 2.2 to 2.1 per cent.