Consumer price index, 15 March 2013

Monthly change – higher clothing and electricity prices

From February to March 2013, the CPI rose by 0.3 per cent. The prices of clothing contributed most to the growth in the CPI, with an increase of 4.5 per cent. Another main contributor to the rise in the CPI was electricity including grid rent, which showed a price increase of 3.5 per cent. Higher electricity prices can be explained by cold and dry weather in March. In the same period, prices of goods and services concerning personal care increased by 1.5 per cent, and imputed rentals for homeowners rose by 0.3 per cent.

The growth in the CPI was dampened by lower food prices, which showed a decrease of 0.7 per cent from February to March. The fall in food prices was partly influenced by price reductions on fruits and berries, dairy products and chocolate products.

Year-to-year growth – higher electricity prices

The CPI rose by 1.4 per cent from March 2012 to March 2013. The main contributor to the year-to-year growth was increased prices of electricity including grid rent by 14.5 per cent. The CPI excluding electricity (CPI-AEL) rose by 0.8 per cent in the same period, thus the electricity prices accounted for 0.6 percentage points of the year-to-year growth in the CPI. Imputed rentals for homeowners rose by 2.4 per cent in the same period. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco showed a joint price increase of 4.3 per cent over the last 12 months, and the prices of restaurant services rose by 3.8 per cent. The prices of transport services, and recreational and cultural services increased 4.0 and 3.0 per cent respectively.

Food prices fell 2.0 per cent from March 2012 to March 2013, thus dampening the year-to-year growth in the CPI. Clothing and shoes showed a combined price decrease of 3.5 per cent in the same period.

Change in the year-to-year growth – increased price growth

The year-to-year growth in the CPI rose by 0.4 percentage points, from 1.0 per cent in February 2013 to 1.4 per cent in March 2013. The price development of electricity including grid rent was the main cause of the increase in the year-to-year growth. From February to March 2013, prices of electricity including grid rent rose by 3.5 per cent, while decreasing by 10.7 per cent in the same period the year before.

The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages fell 0.6 per cent from February to March this year, while increasing 0.2 per cent in the same period the year before, thus pulling the year-to-year growth in the opposite direction. Prices of transport services showed a price fall this year, while increasing in the same period last year, and it was airline fares in particular that contributed the most.

The year-to year growth in the CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) was 0.9 per cent in March, down 0.2 percentage points from February. The reduced price growth of the CPI-ATE was mainly caused by the price development of food and non-alcoholic beverages together with transport services, as explained above.