Consumer Price Indices - Basic Information

The month-on-month increase in consumer prices (by +0.9%), which was the biggest increase since January 2004, was influenced mainly by a rise in administratively influenced prices by +3.1%, while market prices remained stable as a whole. The increase in regulated prices was recorded particularly in ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’, which affected the total increase in consumer prices almost by +0.7 percentage points. The increase in licence fees for television equipment and radio in ‘recreation and culture’ raised the price level as well. The development of market prices was influenced by higher prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’, which was, however, eliminated due to lower prices of automotive fuel.

In housing, prices of natural gas rose by +17.4% and heat by +3.2%. In ‘recreation and culture’, monthly television fees and fees for radio broadcasting went up (+33.3% and +21.6%, respectively). Prices in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’ rose by +0.6% in October after the month-on-month drop that lasted for three months. Higher than in September were primarily prices of bread and cereals (+2.2%), tropical fruit (+1.6%), fruit of moderate climatic zone (+2.1%), potatoes (+2.0%) and non-alcoholic beverages (+1.3%). On the other hand, prices of fresh vegetables decreased by –1.6%. In ‘education’, higher tuition fees (+8.8%) were paid at universities if the standard length of study was exceeded. In ‘restaurants and hotels’, prices of accommodation services at boarding schools and universities rose by +15.9%.

The month-on-month drop in prices was observed only in ‘health‘ and ‘transport,‘ which was caused in ‘health‘ by lower seasonal prices of stays at spas. In ‘transport‘, prices of automotive fuel dropped by –2.0% in October after the marked rise in September.

In total, prices of goods and services rose (+1.1% and +0.4%, respectively).

In terms of year-on-year comparison, the increase in consumer prices accelerated to +2.6% (from +2.2% in September), which was the biggest rise from the beginning of this year. In relation to month-on-month development of consumer prices, the acceleration in the growth of prices was caused particularly by an increase in prices of housing, in which prices of natural gas went up by +21.3% (from +14.7% in September) and prices in ‘recreation and culture’ due to higher licence fees for television equipment and radio (+33.3% and +21.6%, respectively). The price development changed in ‘food and non-alcoholic beverages’, in which prices rose by +0.3% (the drop –0.3% in September). This development was influenced by higher prices of fruit by +6.1% (by +0.8% in September) and a slowdown in the drop in prices of bread and cereals and non-alcoholic beverages.

A slowdown of the price increase was observed in ‘transport‘ due to slackening of the y-o-y price growth of automotive fuel to +16.1% (from +21.6% in September).

A dominant share (54%) in the y-o-y increase in consumer prices was recorded for prices in ‘housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels‘. The second biggest influence on the increase in the price level was recorded for prices in ‘transport,‘ which, however, slowed down to 23% (by 10 percentage points). On the other hand, 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 (+1.9%) and prices of services grew (+3.8%).

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 remained the same as in September (+2.0%).

According to preliminary data of Eurostat, the year-on-year increase in the average harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) in the EU25 was +2.5% in September 2005 (+0.3 percentage points up on August). Prices grew most in Latvia (+7.4%) and Estonia (+4.9%), the least in Sweden and Finland (both +1.1%). Growth of prices in Slovakia reached +2.3% in September. In Germany, the rise in prices accelerated to +2.6% (from +1.9% in August). In the Czech Republic, the y-o-y HICP growth reached +2.5% in October. According to the flash estimate published by Eurostat, the y-o-y HICP increase for the Euro-zone was 2.5% in October 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 )