Consumer price index, 15 July 2005

The CPI stood at 114.9 (1998=100) in July 2005 compared with 113.3 at the same time last year, an increase of 1.4 per cent. The year-to year growth in CPI-ATE was 1.1 per cent in July, the same as in May and June.

Price decrease of clothing and footwear from June to July

CPI decreased by 0.3 percent from June to July, mainly due to summer sales of clothing and footwear. Prices of these products combined decreased by 4.5 per cent, almost the same as last year. There were also registered some sales activity of accommodation services which fell by 9.9 per cent from June to July, a stronger decline compared to the same period last year.

With a price decrease of 4.4 percent, electricity also contributed to the fall in the CPI from June to July. Petrol prices pulled in the opposite direction with an increase of 3.4 per cent.

Petrol and transport services pulled the CPI up the last 12 months

CPI has increased by 1.4 per cent from July 2004 to July 2005. The main contributors to the year-to year growth came from the transport group, where prices of petrol and transport services increased by 8.3 and 6.8 per cent respectively in the last 12 months.

Rentals for housing have increased by 2.4 per cent in the same period.

The 2.0 per cent price increase of food and non-alcoholic beverages combined, contributed to the increased in the CPI in the last 12 months. Services connected to recreation and culture also had an upward effect with an increase of 6.3 per cent.

The prices of clothing pulled in the opposite direction, with a decrease of 6.7 per cent from July 2004 to July 2005. The price fall of 8.5 per cent in the last 12 months for audiovisual equipments contributed to dampen the growth in the CPI as well. The decrease in electricity prices of 3.7 per cent from July 2004 to July 2005 also had a downward effect on the CPI growth.

Electricity prices pulled the year-to-year growth down from June to July

The year-to-year growth in CPI decreased from 1.7 per cent in June to 1.4 per cent in July. The decrease was mainly due to the development in prices of electricity, which fell by 4.4 per cent from June to July this year, compared to an increase of 1.1 per cent in the same period last year.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI-ATE remained unchanged for three months in a row, while the CPI adjusted for tax changes (CPI-AT) decreased from 1.3 per cent in June to 1.1 per cent in July.