Consumer Price Indices - Basic Information

Commentary

Contents

The month-on-month fall in consumer prices (by -0.3%) was influenced mainly by a drop in prices of automotive fuel by -5.2%. In ‘recreation and culture’, the decrease in seasonal prices of package holidays reduced the price level as well (by –2.2%). Similarly, in ‘health’, lower seasonal prices of stays at spas brought about the m-o-m drop. On the other hand, prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ went up by +0.2%. Prices of fruit and non-alcoholic beverages were particularly up on October (+4.3% and +0.7%, respectively). In most of the other kinds of food, however, price fluctuation was minimal.

In total, prices of goods and services dropped (-0.3% and -0.2%, respectively).

In terms of year-on-year comparison, the increase in consumer prices slowed down to +2.4% in November (from +2.6% in October). Further to m-o-m development of consumer prices, the y-o-y development was primarily influenced by prices in ‘transport‘, in which the increase in prices of automotive fuel slowed down to +11.4% (from +16.1% in October).

A dominant share (58%) 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%. The markedly lower share in growth of the price level was in prices in ‘transport‘ and ‘communications‘ (both 16.7%), in which, the former was due to the growth of prices of automotive fuel and the latter due to the rise in public telecommunication services by +14.8%. The moderate increase in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ was primarily brought about by the rise in prices of fruit (+8.6%), fresh vegetables (+4.1%), rice (+8.1%) and beef (+4.3%). On the other hand, however, prices of flour, pork and eggs were lower (-14.0%, -7.2% and -8.4%, respectively). A decreasing effect on the price level was due to prices in ‘clothing and footwear’ and ‘furnishings, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house’.

In total, prices of goods went up (+1.7%) and prices of services grew (+3.7%).

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%, i.e. by -0.1 percentage point down on September and October.

According to preliminary data of Eurostat, the year-on-year increase in the average harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) in the EU25 was +2.4% in October 2005 (-0.1 percentage point down on September). Prices grew most in Latvia (+7.7%) and Luxembourg (+5.0%), the least in Finland (+0.8%) and Sweden (+0.9%). Growth of prices in Slovakia accelerated to +3.5% in October (from +2.3% in September). On the other hand, in Germany, the rise in prices slowed down to +2.4% (from +2.6% in September). In the Czech Republic, the y-o-y HICP growth reached +2.2% in November (+2.5% in October). According to the flash estimate published by Eurostat, the y-o-y HICP increase for the Euro-zone was 2.4% in November 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 )