Consumer price indices - inflation - March 2025

Month-on-month comparison
Consumer prices in March increased by 0.1%, month-on-month. In 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', especially prices of eggs were higher by 15.7%, fruit by 2.7%, poultry by 2.0% and non-alcoholic beverages by 1.0%. In 'alcoholic beverages, tobacco', prices of tobacco products increased by 0.9%. Price rise in 'restaurants and hotels' came mainly from higher prices of catering services by 0.4% and accommodation services by 1.3%. Month-on-month overall price level decrease in March came mainly from prices in 'transport', where prices of fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment were lower by 3.2%. In 'recreation and culture', prices of package holidays decreased by 2.8% due to the ending winter season. In food, mainly prices of butter dropped by 8.3% and prices of vegetables by 0.9%.

Prices of goods in total increased by 0.1% and prices of services by 0.2%.

Year-on-year comparison
“In March, as in February, prices increased by 2.7% in year-on-year comparison. Price rise of food was almost completely offset by price decrease of fuels. On average, petrol Natural 95 was sold at gas stations for CZK 35.25 per litre, which was the lowest price since September 2021. Diesel was sold for CZK 34.83 per litre, which was the lowest since November last year,” noted Pavla Sediva, head of Consumer Price Statistics Unit of CZSO.

Consumer prices increased by 2.7% in March, as in February, year-on-year. Anyway, price development in individual consumer basket divisions varied. The acceleration¹⁾ of the year-on-year price growth occurred mainly in 'food and non-alcoholic beverages'. Prices of meat increased by 3.7% in March (increase by 2.1% in February), items in group milk, cheese and eggs by 11.4% (increase by 7.3% in February), fruit by 11.1% (increase by 5.3% in February), non-alcoholic beverages by 7.8% (increase by 6.2% in February). On the other hand, in 'transport', prices of fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment deepened their decline. They were lower by 8.5%, year-on-year in March (decrease by 3.9% in February).

The biggest influence on the growth of the year-on-year price level in March came again from prices in 'food and non-alcoholic beverages', where prices of UHT semi-skimmed milk increased by 11.1%, eggs by 46.0%, butter by 27.3%, chocolate and chocolate products by 33.9%, coffee by 22.5% and cocoa by 27.1%. Next in order of influence were prices in 'alcoholic beverages, tobacco', where prices of spirits increased by 3.5%, wine by 1.1%, beer by 1.3% and tobacco products by 8.2%. In 'housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels', prices of actual rentals²⁾ increased by 6.3%, prices of materials and services for maintenance and repair of the dwelling by 3.6%, water supply by 4.2%, sewage collection by 3.7% and heat and hot water by 4.5%. Prices of electricity decreased by 4.8% and natural gas by 8.5%. In 'restaurants and hotels', prices of catering services were higher by 4.7% and accommodation services by 8.1%. Year-on-year overall price level decrease in March came from prices in 'clothing and footwear', where prices of garments were lower by 1.5% and shoes and other footwear by 5.4% and prices in 'transport' (decrease by 1.9%).

Owner occupied housing costs (imputed rentals) increased by 3.6%, year-on-year (increase by 3.1% in February), mainly due to growth of prices of new real estates. The overall consumer price index excluding owner occupied housing costs was 102.5%, year-on-year. (More information: Methodological note.)

Prices of goods in total and services went up (1.6% and 4.5%, respectively).

Level of consumer price base index with base period the average of 2015 = 100, was 154.4% in March (154.3% in February).

Inflation rate, i.e. the increase in the average consumer price index in the twelve months to March 2025 compared with the average CPI in the previous twelve months, amounted to 2.6% (2.5% in February).

Harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) ³⁾
According to preliminary calculations, the HICP in Czechia in March increased by 0.1% month-on-month and by 2.7% (2.8% in February), year-on-year. According to flash estimates of Eurostat, the MUICP (Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices) in March 2025 amounted to 2.2%, year-on-year (2.3% in February), 2.3% in Germany. It was the highest in Estonia, Croatia and Slovakia in March (equally 4.3%) and the lowest in France (0.9%). 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 2.7% in February (0.1 percentage points down on January). In February, the rise in prices was the highest in Hungary (5.7%) and the lowest in France (0.9%).

(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.