Harmonized index of consumer prices, May 2002

The decrease in the HICP during the last 12 months is mainly due to tax reductions in addition to the price developments of petrol and electricity. The HICP went up 0.2 per cent from April to May and this was among other things caused by higher prices of clothing and footwear and higher rentals. See the Consumer Price Index for more details.

Change from March to April in the EEA area: Up 0.5 per cent

The HICP for the EEA was 111.2 in April, an increase of 0.5 per cent from March. Spain faced the strongest price increase with 1.4 per cent. Iceland on the other hand, was the one country that had a decrease of their consumer prices.

The prices of clothing and footwear went up from March to April. All countries increased their prices expect for Great Britain. Spain and Portugal reported the strongest price increases. The prices for goods and services related to recreation and culture contributed to dampen the price growth in the EEA. One of the contributing factors to the decrease in the EEA was falling prices of package holidays.

Year-to-year change in the EEA: Prices down only in Norway

From April 2001 to April 2002 the EEA consumer prices increased by 2.2 per cent. Norway was the only country with lower prices; HICP fell by 0.1 per cent. Iceland, Ireland and Netherlands demonstrated growth rates of 7.7, 5.0 and 4.2 per cent respectively. The HICP for the European Union (EU) increased by 2.2 per cent while in the Euro-zone the prices went up 2.4 per cent. Eurostat in advance estimated the year-to-year change in April in the Euro-zone to 2.2 per cent.

From April 2001 to April 2002 the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased in the EEA by 3.3 per cent - mainly caused by a strong increase in prices of fruits and vegetables. Except for Norway, each and all the countries in the EEA experienced a price increase. The prices of catering- and accommodation services went up 4.5 per cent and the prices of communication fell by 0.1 per cent in the same period.