Consumer price indices - inflation - February 2023

Consumer prices increased by 0.6%, month-on-month. This development came mainly from higher prices in 'recreation and culture' and in 'food and non-alcoholic beverages'. The year-on-year growth of consumer prices amounted to 16.7% in February, which was 0.8 percentage points down on January.
 

Month-on-month comparison

Consumer prices in February increased by 0.6%, month-on-month. In 'recreation and culture' mainly prices of package holidays were higher by 5.7%. In 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', especially prices of vegetables increased by 12.7%, fruit by 2.8%, non-alcoholic beverages by 1.4%. Price growth in 'transport' came from higher prices of fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment by 1.3%. In 'furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance', mainly prices of household appliances went up by 1.9% and goods and services for routine household maintenance by 1.4%. On the other hand, prices in 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels' were lower, compared to January. Prices of natural gas were lower by 1.6% there. In food, prices of pork were lower by 6.1%, butter by 12.3% and poultry by 1.1%, in particular.

Prices of goods in total went up by 0.5% and prices of services by 0.6%.
 

Year-on-year comparison

“Consumer prices in February moderated their year-on-year growth to 16.7%. This slowdown was recorded in half of consumer basket divisions. However, prices of fuels, for example, reduce their influence on the year-on-year index since last July” noted Pavla Sediva, head of Consumer Price Statistics Unit of CZSO.

Consumer prices increased by 16.7% in February, i.e. 0.8 percentage points down on January. This slowdown¹⁾ of year-on-year price growth was mainly influenced by prices in 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels'. Prices of electricity moderated their increase to 32.0% (increase by 36.4% in January) and prices of natural gas to 74.3% (increase by 87.0% in January) partly due to their month-on-month increase in February 2022 (more information to electricity price index: Note).

The biggest influence on the growth of the year-on-year price level in February came again from prices in 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels', where besides owner occupied housing costs, also prices of actual rentals²⁾ increased by 6.5%, materials and services for maintenance and repair of the dwelling by 18.4%, water supply by 16.3%, sewage collection by 30.3%, solid fuels by 55.6% and heat and hot water by 45.6%. Next in order of influence were prices in 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', where mainly prices of rice were higher by 31.9%, flour by 36.1%, pork by 31.1%, UHT semi-skimmed milk by 39.5%, eggs by 95.2%, margarine and other vegetable fats by 39.8% and sugar by 75.1%. In 'restaurants and hotels', prices of catering services increased by 23.0% and accommodation services by 20.1%. In 'recreation and culture', prices of package holidays increased by 20.9%.

Owner occupied housing costs (imputed rentals) were higher by 7.7% (increase by 9.1% in January) mainly due to the growth of prices of construction materials. The overall consumer price index excluding owner occupied housing costs was 118.0%, year-on-year. (More information: Methodological note.)

Prices of goods in total and services went up (19.7% and 11.9%, respectively).

Inflation rate, i.e. the increase in the average consumer price index in the twelve months to February 2023 compared with the average CPI in the previous twelve months, amounted to 16.2% (15.7% in January).

Level of consumer price base index with base period the average of 2015 = 100, increased to 147.3% (146.4% in January).
 

Harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP)³⁾

According to preliminary calculations, the HICP in Czechia in February went up by 0.8% month-on-month and 18.4% (19.1% in January), year-on-year. According to flash estimates of Eurostat, the MUICP (Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices) in February 2023 amounted to 8.5% year-on-year (8.6% in January), 15.5% in Slovakia and 9.3% in Germany. It was the highest in Latvia in February (20.1%). According to preliminary data of Eurostat, the year-on-year change in the average harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) in the EU27 member states amounted to 10.0% in January (0.4 percentage points down on December). In January, the rise in prices was the highest in Hungary (26.2%) and the lowest in Luxembourg (5.8%) and in Spain (5.9%).

(More information on the Eurostat’s web pages: HICP.)

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¹⁾ Acceleration/slowdown of the year-on-year price index growth is difference between current and previous year-on-year index. It therefore depends on the change of current month-on-month index and also on the change of base – month-on-month index (growth/decrease) in the same month of the last year.
²⁾ Actual rentals includes both newly concluded contracts and existing ones
³⁾ Imputed rentals are excluded from the HICP.


Notes: