Consumer Price Indices - Basic Information

The month-on-month fall in consumer prices was influenced by an already third month continuing drop in prices of automotive fuel, which was -6.3 %. On the other hand, prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ raised the price level. Seasonal prices of fruit, fresh vegetables and potatoes were particularly up on November (+7.0 %, +7.8 % and +5.0 %, respectively). In most of the other kinds of food, however, prices rather decreased. In ‘alcoholic beverages, tobacco’, prices of cigarettes increased by +0.5 %, while prices ofalcoholic beverages declined by –0.4 %.

In total, prices of goods and services dropped (-0.2 % and -0.1 %, respectively).

In terms of year-on-year comparison, the increase in consumer prices amounted to +2.2 % in December 2005, which is less by –0.6 percentage points than in December 2004. A dominant share (63.6 %) in the y-o-y increase in consumer prices was recorded for prices in ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels‘, in which prices of natural gas increased by +21.3 %, electricity by +4.9 %, heat and hot water by +6.5 %, water supply by +4.5 %, sewerage collection by +5.8 %, refuse collection by +9.7 %. The markedly lower share in growth of the price level was in prices in ‘transport‘ and ‘communications‘ (both 18.2 %). In‘transport‘, prices of automotive fuel increased by +9.8 %, although their y-o-y growth slowed down gradually in the last successive months. In ‘communications‘, prices of postal services rose by +15.5 % and prices of telecommunication services by +14.8 %.

On the other hand, however, the decrease in the price level was brought about by a long-term drop in prices of ‘clothing and footwear’ and ‘furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’, in December accompanied by a drop in prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’. The decrease in prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ was caused by lower prices of flour (–15.9 %), pork (–6.9 %), eggs (–6.7 %), oils and fats (–2.4 %), fruit (–3.9 %), fresh vegetables (–2.0 %) and sugar (–14.5 %). Prices of rice, beef and dried fruit were primarily higher than in the last year.

In total, prices of goods went up (+1.3 %) and prices of services grew (+3.6 %).

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 stood at +1.9 % in 2005, i.e. by -0.9 percentage points down on 2004. The price development in 2005 was influenced particularly by higher prices in housing, restaurants and hotels, whose share in the increase in the price level was 1.1 and 0.4 percentage points (together 78.9 %). In housing, prices of natural gas rose by +12.9 %, electricity by +4.0 %, heat and hot water by +4.5 %, water supply by +4.4 %, sewerage collection by +5.9 %, refuse collection by +9.9 %. In ‘restaurants and hotels’, prices of accommodation services increased by +7.9 % mainly as a consequence of higher prices of student hostel accommodation (change in a grant system), prices of canteens by +6.1 %.

The biggest increase was recorded for prices in ‘health‘ (an increase in prices of drugs) and ‘communications‘, in which prices of postal services rose by +14.3 % and public telecommunication services by +8.0 %.

Prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ were slightly lower than in the last year particularly due to the fall in prices of bread and cereals (-1.9 %) (of which prices of flour decreased by -14.1 %), eggs (- 15.9 %), potatoes (-36.5 %), fresh vegetables (-2.3 %) and tea (-3.1 %).

A reduction in the price level was also due to the drop in prices in ‘clothing and footwear’, ‘furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’

In 2005, the growth of market prices slowed down to +0.7 % (from +2.0 % in 2004), while regulated prices increased by +5.8 % (in 2004 by +5.7 %).

According to preliminary data of Eurostat, the year-on-year increase in the average harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) in the EU25 was +2.2 % in November 2005 (-0.2 percentage point down on October). Prices grew most in Latvia (+7.5 %), the least in Finland (+1.0 %) and Poland (+1.1 %). Growth of prices in Slovakia accelerated to +3.6 % in November (from +3.5 % in October). On the other hand, in Germany, the rise in prices slowed down to +2.3 % (from +2.4 % in October). In the Czech Republic, the y-o-y HICP growth reached +1.9 % in December (+2.2 % in November). According to the flash estimate published by Eurostat, the y-o-y HICP increase for the Euro-zone was 2.2 % in December 2005.

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 )