Consumer Price Indices - Basic Information

In terms of year-on-year comparison, consumer prices grew by 2.8%, which was by 1.8 percentage points up on December 2003. The y-o-y increase in price level was primarily influenced by higher prices of housing and of catering and accommodation, which affected the y-o-y growth of consumer prices almost by 65%. In housing, prices of natural gas increased by +7.7%, actual rentals paid by tenants occupying cooperative flats by +5.6%, water supply by +5.3%, sewerage collection by +5.8%, and refuse collection by +6.6%, in particular. In ‘restaurants and hotels’ the VAT rate increase from May 2004 resulted in growth of prices of meals in restaurants and prices in canteens (+7.9% and +11.5%, respectively).

The VAT rate change affected increase in prices of other services, too. The marked rise was recorded primarily for public telecommunication services (+14.6%), hairdressing salons and services of personal care (+16.9%), dry-cleaning and repair of clothing (+13.5%), repair of footwear (+10.4%) and financial services (+7.3%).

In total, prices of goods went up by 0.9% and prices of services by 6.1%.

Inflation rate, i.e. an increase in the average consumer price index for last 12 months related to the average CPI for the preceding 12 months, amounted to 2.8% and was primarily due to higher prices in ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels‘ and in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’, which influenced the rise in consumer price level in total by 1.0 and 0.6 percentage points, respectively.

In housing, prices of actual rentals paid by tenants occupying cooperative flats rose by +5.2%, water supply by +5.0%, sewerage collection by +5.8%, refuse collection by +6.5%, in particular. Prices of electricity were higher by +2.0% and prices of natural gas by +1.0%.

The price level in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ was affected in most of the months of 2004 by the growth of prices of bread and cereals, which took place already in November 2003. In comparison with 2003, prices of bread and cereals went up by +10.6%, meat by +2.8%, milk, cheese, and eggs by +3.9% in average, oil and fats by +4.1%, and sugar by +23%. Prices of especially fresh vegetables were lower than in 2003 (-7.7%).

Prices in ‘communications’, ‘restaurants and hotels’, ‘miscellaneous goods and services’, which were influenced by the higher VAT rate, increased faster than the average price level. The drop in prices in ‘clothing and footwear’, ‘furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’ caused the cut in the price level.

The growth of regulated prices accelerated primarily in 2004 (to 5.7% from 0.6% in 2003), market prices rose by 2.0% (zero growth in 2003). Regulated prices affected the overall rise in the consumer price level by 1.3 percentage points, market prices influence was 1.5 percentage points in 2004.

In total, prices of goods went up by 1.3% and prices of services by 5.3%.

According to preliminary data of Eurostat, the year-on-year increase in the average harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) in the EU25 in November 2004 reached 2.2%. The highest growth of prices was observed in Latvia (+7.2%), the lowest in Finland (+0.2%). In Slovakia, price growth slowed down from 6.3% in October to 6.0% in November. In the Czech Republic, the y-o-y HICP growth reached +2.5% in December (in November +2.6%). According to a flash estimate published by Eurostat, the y-o-y HICP increase for the Euro-zone in December 2004 was 2.3%.

Note
Contact: Marie Huskova, phone (+420) 274054104, e-mail: huskova@gw.czso.cz
Data source: CZSO survey
End of data collection: 20th day of the reference month
End of data processing: 3rd day of the month that follows each reference month
The data are final.
Related publications: 7101-04 Consumer Price Indices – Basic Information; 7103-04 Consumer Price Indices – Detailed Information (Internet: https://csu.gov.cz )