Consumer price index, 15 July 2003

The CPI stood at 111.6 (1998=100) in July this year in comparison with 109.9 in July last year.

Consumer prices down 0.4 per cent from June to July

The prices of clothing and footwear decreased by 5.3 per cent in July due to summer sales and are therefore the main contributor to the decline in the CPI from June to July. The prices of clothing fell the most by 6.0 per cent. Women's and men's clothing showed a stronger price fall than the children's clothing. The prices of footwear fell less by 1.7 per cent. There were also registered some sale activity for household textiles.

The tariffs on electricity fell by 5.3 per cent from June to July and by that the electricity tariffs continues to play an important role in the development of the CPI, as they have done since the end of last year. The decrease was dampened by a slight increase in the cost of transporting energy.

The prices of accommodation services went down 8.3 per cent in July, mainly because of summer-promotion activity. The prices of telephone equipment and services declined as well.

After a price increase in June, the petrol prices increased further in July by 3.1 per cent and contributed to reduce the decline in the consumer prices from June to July.

So did the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose by 0.7 per cent in July. The increase was, among other things, caused by higher prices of fresh meat and can be seen in connection with the agriculture agreement 2003. The prices of fresh fruit increased while the prices of fresh vegetables decreased. The prices of non-alcoholic beverages went up by 1.5 per cent mainly due to some increase in the prices of mineral waters and coffee.

Increased prices of medical services as well as increased insurance premiums were also registered in July.

Year-to-year change: Tariffs on electricity contributed to price growth

The CPI has increased by 1.5 per cent during the last 12 months. The tariffs on electricity are still the main single contributor behind the year-to-year growth in the consumer prices. Despite falling tariffs for the last 6 months, the prices are 20.6 per cent higher in July this year compared with the same period last year. During the last 12 months the CPI excluding electricity have increased by 0.8 per cent. Electricity therefore increases the consumer price growth by 0.7 percentage points.

The growth in the CPI can also be explained by higher rentals. Rentals for housing and costs for owner-occupied housing have increased by 3.7 and 3.5 per cent respectively from July last year. Another contributing factor are the prices of food, which have shown an increase of 3.5 per cent.

Since July last year the insurance premiums have increased by 9.2 per cent, while health services have gone up 5.7 per cent. The prices of transport services and petrol have also contributed to the CPI with growth rates of 3.7 and 3.5 per cent respectively.

The prices of clothing are 13.3 per cent lower compared to July last year. Like the clothing prices, the prices of footwear have contributed to dampen the year-to-year growth in the CPI, but to a smaller extent. The prices of audiovisual equipment have declined as well during the last 12 months. Imported consumer goods as a total have shown a price reduction of 4.2 per cent.

The year-to-year change in the CPI-ATE was 0.7 per cent in July. Energy products therefore pull the consumer price growth up by 0.8 percentage points.

Decrease in the year-to-year growth

The year-to-year growth in the CPI went from 1.7 per cent in June to 1.5 per cent in July. The decline in the year-to-year growth was mainly caused by the price development of tariffs on electricity and rentals. The electricity tariffs fell by 5.3 per cent in July this year in comparison with a decrease of 1.0 per cent last year. The rentals increased only marginally in July this year while the rise in the same period last year was 0.4 per cent. The price development of food as well as telephone equipment and services also contributed to the fall in the year-to-year growth.

The petrol prices on the other hand, counteracted this development as the prices showed an increase of 3.1 per cent in July this year in comparison with a slight decrease in July last year.

The CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) dropped from 1.6 per cent in June to 1.4 per cent in July. The CPI-ATE went from 0.8 per cent and down to 0.7 per cent in the same period.