Consumer price index, 15 February 2005

The CPI stood at 113.7 (1998=100) in February 2005 compared with 112.6 at the same time last year, an increase of 1.0 per cent. The year-to-year growth in the CPI-ATE was 0.7 per cent in February, unchanged from January.

Price increase of furniture and food items

The CPI increased by 0.1 per cent from January to February this year. Following the January sales, prices of furniture and furnishings increased by 5.1 per cent from January to February and contributed to pushing the CPI up.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed to the increase with an overall price increase of 1.0 per cent. Price increases were recorded for most groups within the food and non-alcoholic beverages category.

Prices of social protection services have also increased since the last survey, with an aggregate price increase of 0.8 per cent. Since August 2004, public kindergarten fees have increased by 1.6 per cent, while private kindergarten fees have fallen by 1.1 per cent. For more information on the development of kindergarten fees, we refer to the article "Households' payments in kindergartens". Rates of change, January 2005", which will be published on 11 March 2005.

Heavy energy components, such as petrol and electricity, had different effects on the CPI. Whereas the price of petrol increased by 1.5 per cent from January to February, the price of electricity fell by 6.2 per cent.

The January sales on clothing continued into February, however to a smaller extent, and prices of clothing fell by 1.5 per cent from January to February.

Petrol and transport services pushed CPI up

The CPI rose by 1.0 per cent from February 2004 to February 2005. The main contributor to the year-to-year growth in February was the transport group, with price increases of petrol and transport services of 5.7 and 5.8 per cent respectively. Car prices also had an upward effect on the CPI, with an increase of 1.7 per cent. A large price increase of accessories for personal transport equipment has also been registered during the last 12 months.

Rentals for housing and costs for owner-occupied housing have also had an upward effect on the CPI from February 2004 to February 2005, with price increases of 2.1 and 1.8 per cent respectively. In addition, prices of materials for maintenance and repair of dwellings have increased by 5.4 per cent.

The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have increased by 1.7 per cent from February 2004 to February 2005.

The prices of electricity fell by 10.6 per cent in the last 12 months and had a downward effect on the CPI. The decline in prices of clothing and footwear and audiovisual equipment also contributed to offset the increase in the CPI.

Decrease in the year-to-year growth

The year-to-year growth in the CPI fell from 1.1 per cent in January to 1.0 in February. The decrease is mainly attributable to falling prices of clothing in February, compared with an increase at the same time last year.