Consumer price index, 15 November 2011

The Consumer price index (CPI) was 130.5 (1998=100) as per November 2011, compared with 129.0 in November 2010. This was equivalent to a year-to-year growth of 1.2 per cent in November 2011, down 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. The year-to year growth in the CPI-ATE was 1.0 per cent in November 2011, down 0.2 percentage points from October 2011.

No change from October to November

The CPI as a whole was unaltered from October to November. After a persistent fall in the prices of electricity including grid rent since January this year, we now see an increase of 5.0 per cent. Despite the increase, the price level is still below the level in November last year. An increase in book prices of 16.4 per cent also contributed positively to the CPI.

In the opposite direction, prices of airline fares fell by 11.3 per cent from October to November. The price decline were registered both for domestic and foreign destinations. Food prices fell by 0.8 per cent due to lower prices for the groups fruit and vegetables. Prices of citrus, pears, apples together with tomato and cucumber showed a notable decrease.

CPI up 1.2 per cent the last twelve months

The CPI rose by 1.2 per cent from November 2010 to November 2011. The main contributors to the rise were prices of alcoholic beverages and tobacco together with non-alcoholic beverages, which increased by 6.5 and 9.5 per cent respectively. Prices of fuel and lubricants rose by 8.1 per cent, while prices of restaurant services and imputed rentals for owner-occupiers increased by 4.0 and 1.7 per cent respectively.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI was dampened by a decline in prices within audiovisual equipment, food, electricity including grid rent and airline fares.

A decrease in the year-to-year growth

The year-to-year growth in the CPI went down by 0.2 percentage points from October to November, from 1.4 in October to 1.2 in November. The main cause was that the prices of airline fares fell by 11.3 per cent from October to November this year, compared to an increase of 1.9 per cent in the same period last year. At the same time, food prices fell more from October to November this year than in the corresponding period last year. Prices of clothing together with fuels and lubricants also contributed to the dampening, with an increase in November last year compared to a decrease in November this year.

The year-to year growth in the CPI-ATE was 1.0 per cent in November 2011, down 0.2 percentage points from October 2011.

Tables

Published tables