Consumer price index, 15 February 2002

The CPI was 109.3 (1998=100) in February 2002, in comparison to 108.4 in February 2001. The consumer prices increased by 0.3 per cent from 15 of January to 15 of February.

Year-to-year change: Lowest price growth since 1996

The CPI increased by 0.8 per cent from February 2001 to February 2002. This is the lowest year-to-year change since June 1996. Due to the reduction in the value added taxes, the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have caused a decline in the year-to-year growth of 0.7 percentage points. The prices have decreased by 5.8 per cent during the last 12 months. Dairy products, bread- and grain products give the largest contribution.

The prices of clothing and footwear have also moderated the year-to-year change. All together, the prices have fallen by 7.1 per cent. Due to tax reductions of alcohol at the turn of the year the prices of alcoholic beverages have gone down by 3.7 per cent during the last 12 months.

Despite increases in the prices of petrol in January and February, the petrol prices have fallen 10.8 per cent during the last 12 months due among other things to the development in the oil prices. The CPI excluding energy products (CPI-AE) has increased by 0.9 per cent since February last year.

In addition, lower prices of audio-visual equipments, kindergarten, household textiles and telephone products have dampened the price increase in February.

CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) was 2.2 per cent measured by the year-to-year change in February. The changes in real taxes therefore pulled the consumer price growth down by 1.4 percentage points. The year-to-year change in the CPI-ATE was 2.1 per cent in February.

The main contributors to the growth in the CPI have been tariffs on electricity and rentals. Even though the tariffs on electricity fell slightly in February, the tariffs were 10.1 per cent higher in February this year compared with February last year. The consumption tax fell from NOK 11.30 øre/kWh to NOK 9.30 øre/kWh as of 1st of January. CPI excluding electricity was 0.4 per cent measured by the year-to-year change in February. The costs for owner-occupied housing and rentals for housing increased by 4.2 and 3.9 per cent respectively.

The rise in the transport sector was a result of a strong increase in the prices on passenger transport by air . During the last 12 months the airline fares have gone up 20.5 per cent. In addition, the passenger transport by railway has also shown a strong increase. The rise in the prices of vehicles and maintenance and repair of personal transport equipments has also contributed to the growth.

The prices of catering- and accommodation services have contributed to the growth in CPI by 4.6 per cent. The prices of accommodation services have increased the most by 7.2 per cent. Still, it is the catering services that give the greatest contribution.

The prices of miscellaneous goods and services have also shown an increase during the last 12 months, and insurance expenditure has been the main contributor. Prices of different services for social protection on the other hand, have shown a decline due to lower kindergarten fees.

Changes in the year-to-year growth: Marked decrease

The year-to-year growth fell from 1.3 per cent in January to 0.8 per cent in February. This strong decline was due to several conditions. The petrol prices increased only slightly in February this year compared to an increase of 2.9 per cent in the same period last year. The tariffs on electricity decreased in February this year, in contrast to an increase of 2.4 per cent in February last year.

The costs for owner-occupied housing and rentals for housing also contributed to reduce the year-to-year change.

In addition, the price developments of social protection services and clothing also influenced the decline in the year-to-year change in February.

CPI-AT fell from 2.7 per cent in January to 2.2 per cent in February while CPI-ATE went down from 2.5 per cent to 2.1 per cent.

Price change from January to February: Price increase after seasonal sale

A lot of commodities showed price increases after sales in January. The prices of furnishings and household equipments rose by 1.9 per cent. The clothing and footwear prices increased by 1.6 per cent. The prices of footwear showed a larger increase than the prices of clothing.

The prices of petrol increased by 0.2 per cent in February. Other contributions to transport sector were higher fees of turnpike road and parking meter together with higher prices of maintenance and repair of personal transport equipment.

The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages went slightly up by 0.2 per cent. The prices of meat, fish and fruits went up while the prices of fresh vegetables and coffee decreased.

The prices of outpatient services increased in February while household payments in kindergartens, on the other hand, dropped by 1.9 per cent. For further details, see Household Payments in Kindergartens, January 2002 .

The costs of owner-occupied housing declined by 0.4 per cent while rentals for housing went down 0.2 per cent. The tariffs on electricity fell by 0.4 per cent in February.