Consumer price index, 15 June 2004

The CPI stood at 113.4 (1998=100) in June this year compared with 112.0 in June last year. The CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) has risen by 0.2 per cent in the same period.

Unchanged CPI from May to June

Following an 11.2 per cent drop in May, airline fares jumped by 11.2 per cent in June as a result of higher aviation taxes, among other things. Rentals for housing and costs for owner-occupied housing increased by 0.5 and 0.4 per cent respectively and higher prices of fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes, were also recorded.

On the other hand, the prices of clothing and household textiles fell by 1.6 and 3.1 per cent. The prices of accommodation services also fell in June.

Year-to-year change: Price increase of 1.3 per cent

The consumer prices have increased by 1.3 per cent from June 2003 to June 2004. Energy products are the largest contributors to the overall price rise. Petrol prices have increased by 11.5 per cent whereas electricity tariffs as a total have gone up by 7.4 per cent. In the same period, the CPI excluding energy products (CPI-AE) has risen by 0.6 per cent.

There has also been a staggering 19.5 per cent increase in tobacco prices, whereas prices of health services have gone up by 8.8 per cent on a year-to-year basis.

Several components have contributed to dampen the year-to-year growth, such as the prices of clothing and household textiles, which have fallen by 8.1 and 7.3 per cent respectively. Despite the sharp increase in airline fares in June this year, the fares are as much as 19.1 per cent lower than last year. The prices of audiovisual equipment and social protection services have also counteracted the growth in consumer prices.

Further increase in the year-to-year change

The year-to-year growth in the CPI increased from 1.0 per cent in May to 1.3 per cent in June. The increase is mainly due to the price development of three components; electricity tariffs went up by 0.5 per cent in June this year, compared with a drop of 4.0 per cent in June last year. Airline fares increased by 11.2 per cent in June this year while the fares only rose marginally last year. And prices of package holidays only fell slightly in June this year compared with a much heavier fall in June last year.

The price developments of petrol and food counteracted the increase in the year-to-year growth.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) climbed from 0.6 per cent in May to 0.8 per cent in June. The CPI-ATE went up from 0.1 per cent in May to 0.2 per cent in June.