Consumer price index, 15 June 2009

The consumer price index (CPI) was 126.4 (1998=100) as per June 2009 compared with 122.2 in June 2008. This is equivalent to a year-to-year growth of 3.4 per cent in June, up from 3.0 per cent in May. The year-to-year growth in the CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) was 3.3 per cent in June 2009, up from 2.9 per cent in May.

Increased airline fares

The CPI increased by 0.6 per cent from May to June 2009. The development in airline fares was the most important factor behind the monthly growth. The airline fares are in general influenced by large variations from month to month. One explanation might be the dynamic pricing of airline fares based on supply and demand. In the period from February to May 2009 the airline fares decreased by approximately 12 per cent, mostly due to lower prices on foreign destinations. The decrease can to some extent be explained by campaign prices. In June, the prices of fares to foreign destinations grew strongly, but also the prices of fares to domestic destinations showed an increase. The airline fares increased by 40.9 per cent in total, compared with an increase of 25.7 per cent in June 2008.

Prices of fuels and lubricants also contributed in pulling the CPI up, and rose by 5.1 per cent. The prices of package holidays were measured in June, and had a growth of 5.6 per cent since last measurement in June previous year. Another contributor to the growth in CPI was the prices of food that increased by 0.7 per cent from May to June 2009, mostly due to higher prices on fruits.

Sales activity on clothing together with furniture and furnishings reduced the growth in CPI, due to a price decrease of 2.2 and 2.9 per cent respectively from May to June 2009.

The year-to-year growth was 3.4 per cent

The year-to-year growth in the CPI was mainly due to the price development of food and non-alcoholic beverages, imputed rentals for owner-occupiers and electricity. The prices on food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 5.8 per cent, while imputed rentals for owner-occupiers together with electricity including grid rent increased by 3.7 and 15.3 per cent respectively. Other important contributors were the price development of transport services and restaurant services.

The prices of telecommunication services contributed most to dampen the year-to-year growth in CPI, due to a decrease by 11.8 per cent. The prices of clothing and fuels and lubricants decreased by 4.4 and 6.4 per cent respectively from June 2008 to June 2009.

The year-to-year growth up 0.4 percentage point from May to June

The year-to-year growth went up from 3.0 per cent in May to 3.4 per cent in June, mainly due to the price development on airlines fares and food. The year-to-year growth was also affected by the price development on audiovisual equipment and fuels and lubricants.

The year-to-year growth in the CPI-ATE increased from 2.9 per cent in May 2009 to 3.3 per cent in June 2009.