Index of household consumption of goods, December 2008

According to the seasonal adjusted figures, purchases of vehicles and petrol went up by 3.2 per cent from November to December 2008. All through 2008, the purchases of vehicles were under the level of purchases in 2007. In December last year, the level was 21 per cent lower than the level in the corresponding month in 2007.

Consumption of electricity and heating fuels also contributed to pull the index of household consumption of goods up from November to December. The consumption of these goods increased by 1.1 per cent in December compared to the previous month.

Households’ consumption of food, beverages and tobacco showed a 0.7 per cent increase although the consumption of foodstuffs was nearly unchanged from November to December.

Consumption of the goods in the group ‘other goods’, declined by 0.7 per cent after the seasonal variations were removed. Purchases of furniture, photo equipment and electronics pulled the index down while the purchase in clothing and shoes pulled the index up.

Unadjusted volume index shows that the households’ consumption of goods was 0.1 per cent higher in December 2008 compared with the consumption in December 2007. Consumers bought less cars, furniture and household appliances and consumed less electricity, fuel and heating in December 2008 than in the corresponding month the year before.