Consumer price indices - inflation - March 2021

Consumer prices in March increased by 0.2% compared with February. This development came primarily from price rise in 'transport'. The year-on-year growth of consumer prices amounted to 2.3% in March, which was 0.2 percentage points up on February.
 

Month-on-month comparison

Price increase in 'transport' came mainly from higher prices of automotive fuels and lubricants by 5.9%. The average price of petrol Natural 95 (CZK 30.47 per litre) and average price of diesel oil (CZK 29.14 per litre) were the highest from February 2020 and March 2020, respectively. In 'alcoholic beverages, tobacco', prices of tobacco products increased by 2.5%. In 'clothing and footwear’, prices of garments were higher by 0.6% and shoes and other footwear by 1.1%. In food, mainly prices of eggs were higher by 5.1%, fruit by 0.8% and butter by 2.5%.

Decrease in the overall consumer price level in March came primarily from price drop in 'furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance', where prices of goods and services for routine household maintenance were lower by 1.8%. In 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', prices of vegetables decreased by 3.9%, of which prices of potatoes were lower by 10.3%.

Prices of goods in total went up by 0.4%, while prices of services decreased by 0.3%.
 

Year-on-year comparison

Consumer prices increased by 2.3% in March, i.e. 0.2 percentage points up on February. This acceleration in the year-on-year price growth came mainly from prices in 'transport', where prices of automotive fuels and lubricants turned from a decrease by 9.8% in February into rise by 1.1% in March. On the other hand, price drop occurred in 'food and non-alcoholic beverages'. Prices of vegetables decreased by 6.2% (decrease by 1.4% in February), of which prices of potatoes were lower by 29.0% (decrease by 9.4% in February). Prices of pork were lower by 11.3% (decrease by 9.5% in February).

The biggest influence on the growth of the year-on-year price level in March came from prices in 'alcoholic beverages and tobacco', where prices of tobacco products increased by 17.5%. Next in the order of influence were prices in 'transport' with year-on-year growth by 5.2%, where prices of motor cars grew up by 9.3%. In 'miscellaneous goods and services', prices of financial services were higher by 8.5%. In 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels’, prices of actual rentals for housing increased by 1.3%, water supply by 1.9% and sewage collection by 2.3%. Prices of electricity decreased by 3.4% and natural gas by 4.7%. A reduction in the overall price level in March came from prices in 'food and non-alcoholic beverages' (decrease by 0.3%) and in 'communication' (decrease by 0.1%).

Prices of goods in total and services went up (2.1% and 2.6%, respectively). The overall consumer price index excluding imputed rentals for housing was 102.3%, year-on-year.

Inflation rate, i.e. the increase in the average consumer price index in the twelve months to March 2021 compared with the average CPI in the previous twelve months, amounted to 2.8%.
 

Harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) ¹⁾

According to preliminary calculations, the HICP in Czechia in March went up by 0.2%, month-on-month and 2.3%, year-on-year. According to flash estimates of Eurostat, the MUICP (Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices) in March 2021 amounted to 1.3% year-on-year (0.9% in February). In Slovakia, prices were higher by 1.4% in March and in Germany by 2.0%, year-on-year. 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 1.3% in February (0.1 percentage point up on January). The rise in prices was the highest in Poland (3.6%) and the deepest price reduction occurred in Greece (−1.9%).

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

Methodological note to consumer price index in March 2021 (COVID-19)
 

¹⁾ Imputed rentals are excluded from the HICP.

Notes:
Responsible manager of the CZSO: Jiri Mrazek, Director of Price Statistics Department, email: jiri.mrazek@csu.gov.cz
Contact: Pavla Sediva, Head of the Consumer Price Statistics Unit, phone (+420) 274052138, email: pavla.sediva@csu.gov.cz
Data source: Direct field survey of prices, centrally surveyed prices and reporting
End of data collection: 20th day of the reference month / End of data processing: 3rd day of the month that follows the reference month
Related publications: 012018-21 Consumer Price Indices – Basic Breakdown (periodicity: monthly), 012023-21 Consumer price Indices – Detailed Breakdown (periodicity: monthly) and 012019-21 Consumer Price Indices – Detailed Breakdown (periodicity: annually)
Internet: https://csu.gov.cz/inflation-consumer-prices
Next News Release: 11 May 2021
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