Annual Consumer Price Inflation Falls To 4.7% In December

Consumer Prices in December, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.1% in the month. This compares to an increase of 0.3% in December of last year. The annual rate of inflation fell to 4.7%, down from 5.0% in November 2007.

The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose by 0.1% in the month, compared to an increase of 0.4% in December 2006. The annual rate of inflation, as measured by the HICP, fell from 3.5% in November to 3.2% in December.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (which were up by 15.1%), Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (up 6.3%), Education (up 6.0%) and Transport (which increased by 5.1%). There were decreases in Clothing and Footwear (-6.2%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (which fell by 2.3%).

The annual rate of inflation for Services was 6.5% in December, while that for Goods in creased by 2.7% in the year.

Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco prices rose due to the increase in excise duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products announced in the Budget in December.

Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages rose due to price increases across a wide range of products including biscuits and bread, while Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels rose due to increases in average mortgage interest repayments and higher local authority rents.

The CPI (excluding tobacco) for December remained unchanged in the month and was up 4.7% in the year.

The CPI (excluding energy products) was up 0.1% since November and increased by 4.3% in the year.

The CPI excluding mortgage interest increased by 0.1% in the month and rose by 3.1% in the year.