Consumer price index, 15 December 2007

The CPI was 118.6 (1998=100) in 2007 compared to 117.7 in 2006 - an annual growth of 0.8 per cent. Over the last twelve months the CPI-ATE has increased by 1.4 per cent.

The CPI stood at 121.8 in December 2007, an increase of 0.8 per cent from November 2007. The year-to-year growth in the CPI was 2.8 per cent from December 2006 to December 2007.

Yearly growth at 0.8 per cent in 2007

The electricity prices were the main reason for the low annual growth. With high prices of electricity in 2006 and a considerable fall in prices in the first eight months of 2007, prices of electricity including the cost of electricity transport fell by 21.5 per cent from 2006 to 2007.

The price fall on clothing and footwear was 5.1 per cent from 2006 to 2007. The development in prices of telecom equipment and audiovisual equipment also dampened the annual growth.

Prices of maintenance and repair of dwellings had an annual growth of 6.2 per cent, while operation of personal transport equipment increased by 3.7 per cent. Food prices were another important contributor to the annual growth in the CPI with an increase of 2.5 per cent.

In addition to the price development in services connected to dwellings and vehicles, a number of services saw prices increase from 2006 to 2007. This was especially the case for services related to recreation and culture.

Electricity prices continued to rise in December

The CPI increased by 0.8 per cent from November to December 2007. The main reason for the increase was higher prices of electricity including the cost of electricity transport, which increased by 13.0 per cent.

In the opposite direction, prices of clothing and non-alcoholic beverages were the most important components from November to December 2007.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI was 2.8 per cent from December 2006 to December 2007. This was mainly due to the 5.9 per cent rise in electricity prices.

Prices of clothing decreased by 5.2 per cent, and contributed to dampen the year-to-year growth from December 2006 to December 2007.

The CPI-ATE increased by 1.8 per cent from December 2006 to December 2007, while the CPI-AT increased by 2.8 per cent in the same period.