Consumer price index, 15 December 2009

The consumer price index (CPI) was 126.9 (1998=100) per December 2009, compared with 124.4 at the same time in 2008. This is equivalent to a year-to-year growth of 2.0 per cent in December 2009, up from 1.5 per cent in November. The year-to year growth in the CPI-ATE was 2.4 per cent in December 2009, unchanged from November.

The annual growth in the CPI was 2.1 per cent in 2009, while the annual growth in the CPI-ATE was 2.6 per cent.

Increased electricity prices

The CPI rose by 0.2 per cent from November to December 2009. The growth was mainly caused by an increase in electricity prices included grid rent of 4.1 per cent. In the same period the airline fares grew by 10.5 per cent, while prices on books went up by 8.0 per cent.

Dampening factors to the monthly growth was prices on clothing and food, which fell by 0.9 and 0.2 per cent respectively. The prices on accommodation services also declined from November to December 2009.

Fuel most important to the year-to-year growth

The CPI increased by 2.0 per cent from December 2008 to December 2009 due to the price development on fuel and lubricants. The prices on fuel and lubricants rose by 14.5 per cent. Other important factors behind the growth were imputed rentals for owner-occupiers and food prices, which rose by 2.6 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively. Additionally, prices on services within recreational and culture, restaurant together with health increased the past twelve months.

The prices on electricity included grid rent decreased by 13.5 per cent from December 2008 to December 2009. Airline fares and prices on audio-visual equipment fell by 17.9 and 3.3 per cent respectively in the same period.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI rose by 0.5 percentage points, up from 1.5 per cent in November to 2.0 per cent in December 2009. The increase was mainly caused by the price development of energy. The prices on electricity included grid rent went up by 4.1 per cent from November to December 2009, while decreasing by 2.9 per cent in the same period last year. The prices on fuel and lubricants had on the other hand a week decline from November to December 2009, however not as considerable as in the corresponding period in 2008.

Annual growth by 2.1 per cent

The annual growth in the CPI in 2009 was 2.1 per cent. Imputed rentals for owner-occupiers and prices on food contributed most to the increase. The prices on imputed rentals rose in average by 3.3 per cent from 2008 to 2009. The annual growth in food prices was 3.9 per cent, which can partly be explained by strong increases in the prices of dairy products together with bread and corn products. The annual growth was also influenced by increased prices of services within culture and leisure together with alcoholic beverages and tobacco. The price development on energy goods contributed to dampen the annual growth.

The annual growth in CPI-JAE was 2.6 per cent from 2008 to 2009.