Consumer price index, 15 February 2004

CPI stood at 112.6 (1998=100) in February this year compared with 114.6 in February last year - a decrease of 1.7 per cent. The year-to-year change in the CPI-ATE went down from an increase of 0.1 per cent in January to a decrease of 0.1 per cent in February. The decline is mainly attributable to a reduction in kindergarten payments in February this year as opposed to an increase in February last year.

Increase of 0.2 per cent from January to February

On average, the CPI increased by 0.2 per cent from January to February. The two most important energy components, petrol and electricity, pulled in opposite directions. The petrol prices increased by 4.0 per cent from January to February, while tariffs on electricity fell by 5.6 per cent.

Followed the January sales, prices of clothing and footwear increased by 1.5 and 0.8 per cent respectively in February. But the picture is ambiguous - although the prices of most products went up, some fell even further. Prices of furniture and furnishings increased by 3.5 per cent and are almost back at the December price level.

Prices of food and rentals also contributed to the CPI increase from January to February. Prices of food went up 0.6 per cent, while the costs for owner-occupied housing and rentals for housing both rose by 0.3 per cent.

Prices of services connected to social protection fell by 3.0 per cent as a result of reduced kindergarten fees since the last survey in August 2003. Fees in private kindergartens declined by 10.3 per cent, while fees in public kindergartens went down 1.2 per cent. For more information, see Households' payments in kindergartens. Rates of change, January 2004 .

Year-to-year change: Consumer prices down

The CPI has fallen by 1.7 per cent from February 2003 to February 2004. As in January, the electricity tariffs are the one dominating contributor to the year-to-year change. Due to the extremely high price level in the beginning of 2003, tariffs were 29.8 per cent lower in February this year compared with February last year. The growth in the CPI excluding electricity was 0.3 per cent in the same period. The petrol prices have also fallen on a year-to-year basis, although their contribution was of less significance - the growth in the CPI excluding energy products (CPI-AE) was 0.4 per cent.

Prices of clothing have shown a falling trend for several years and have fallen by 11.8 per cent in the last 12 months. Prices of footwear have also decreased by a substantial 8.0 per cent in the same period.

Airline fares have dropped 17.7 per cent and prices of audiovisual equipment have fallen by 7.4 per cent. The large decline in kindergarten payments also contributes strongly to the consumer price decrease.

Rentals for housing and costs for owner-occupied housing showed a drop in the year-to-year growth in January this year, they were nevertheless the most important contributor to offset the overall CPI decline. Since February last year rentals for housing and costs for owner-occupied housing have increased by 2.7 and 2.6 per cent respectively. Food prices have gone up 2.6 per cent, and due to the tax increase on tobacco as of January this year, tobacco prices have shown a sharp increase since February last year. Prices of health services and insurance premiums have risen by 8.8 and 5.1 per cent respectively during the last 12 months.

Slight increase in the year-to-year change

The year-to-year change in the CPI went from a decline of 1.8 per cent in January to a decrease of 1.7 per cent in February. The slight increase is mainly due to the development of electricity tariffs and clothing prices. Compared to February last year, when electricity tariffs fell by 6.9 per cent, the tariffs showed a somewhat smaller decline in February this year with 5.6 per cent. The clothing prices increased more in February this year compared to the same period last year. Lower kindergarten fees in February this year compared with an increase in February last year, counteracted the development.

The CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) rose slightly from a decrease of 2.4 per cent in January to a decline of 2.3 per cent in February. The CPI-ATE fell down to a decrease of 0.1 per cent in February from an increase of 0.1 per cent in January.