Inflation Falls To 4.4%

Consumer Prices in July, as measured by the CPI, decreased by 0.3% in that month.

This compares to an increase of 0.3% in July of last year. As a result, the annual rate of inflation fell to 4.4%, down from 5.0% in June 2008.

The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) decreased by 0.5% in the month, compared to a decrease of 0.2% in July 2007.

The annual rate of inflation, as measured by the HICP, decreased from 3.9% in June to 3.6% in July.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels which were up by almost 10%, Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (up 6.8%), Education (up 6.4%) and Health (up 6.2%).

There were decreases in the cost of Clothing and Footwear ( down 5.8%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (down by 1.5%).

The annual rate of inflation for Services was 4.5% in July, while Goods increased by 4.2% in the year.

The CPI excluding tobacco index for July decreased by 0.3% in the month and was up 4.3% in the year.

The CPI excluding energy products index was down by 0.5% since June and increased by 3.5% in the year.

The CPI excluding mortgage interest decreased by 0.5% in the month and rose by 3.6% in the year.