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85169
Increased consumption of goods
statistikk
2012-04-27T10:00:00.000Z
Wholesale and retail trade and service activities;Income and consumption;National accounts and business cycles
en
vki, Index of household consumption of goods, volume index, household consumption (for example car purchase, food consumption, electricity consumption)Wholesale and retail trade , Consumption, National accounts , Income and consumption, National accounts and business cycles, Wholesale and retail trade and service activities
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Index of household consumption of goods, March 2012

Content

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Increased consumption of goods

Household consumption of goods increased 1.6 per cent from February to March, according to seasonally-adjusted figures, after an increase in the two previous months. All commodity groups contributed to the growth, apart from electricity, which declined in March.

Index of household consumption of goods, seasonally adjusted. 2005=100

Consumption of food and beverages rose by 2.9 per cent from February to March. Household purchases of other goods including clothes and shoes, leisure equipment and appliances went up by 2 per cent in the same period.

Purchase of vehicles and engine fuel increased 0.9 per cent in March. Electricity and heating fuels, on the other hand, fell by 5.7 per cent. This decrease contributed to pulling the growth in total household consumption of goods down by 0.4 percentage points.

Without adjusting for seasonal variations, the total household consumption of goods was 5.7 per cent higher in March 2012 than in March 2011.

About the seasonal adjustment

The method of seasonal adjustment has been slightly changed concerning the treatment of 1 January. The method is in accordance with the retail sales index. The change has caused some revision in previously published figures, for January in particular.

It is important to be aware that the uncertainty for the seasonally-adjusted indices for March and April is greater than normal due to the changed placing of Easter. This year, Easter fell at the beginning of April, which had some effect on consumption in March. This is accounted for when adjusting for seasonal variations, however, it can still be difficult to adjust for all impacts.

Index of household consumption of goods, March 2012. Seasonally adjusted and unadjusted volume indices. March 2011-March 2012. 2005=1001
Period Seasonally adjusted Change from
previous month.
Per cent 		Unadjusted Change from
the same month
last year.
Per cent
2012        
March  122.0 1.6  122.3 5.7
February  120.0 0.7  109.1 5.0
January  119.1 1.0  114.7 4.3
         
2011        
December  117.9 -0.5  153.4 0.2
November  118.5 -0.4  122.5 -0.9
October  118.9 0.2  116.9 0.6
September  118.6 -0.3  116.4 2.6
August  119.0 1.5  123.1 5.7
July  117.2 -0.3  118.2 -2.1
June  117.6 -0.6  122.2 -0.2
May  118.3 0.3  119.2 6.2
April  117.9 1.6  113.1 9.5
March  116.0 -1.4  115.7 -4.4
1  Please note that the indices have been revised.

Method differs from the index of retail sales

The index of household consumption of goods describes the development in household consumption, while the index of retail sales measures the development in retail sales. Compared to the index of retail sales, the index of household consumption of goods has a wider selection of goods. The calculation of the index of household consumption of goods is based on information from the index of retail sales, plus purchases of cars (initial registration) and consumption of electricity and heating fuels. This may result in deviations in the development of the two indices. Additionally, it should be borne in mind that the Standard Industrial Classification changed on 1 January 2009, which inter alia means that petrol stations from then onwards are part of retail sales.

Connection to quarterly national accounts

The index of household consumption of goods uses the same definitions and methods of compilation as the quarterly national accounts, and thus serves as an indicator of household consumption in the quarterly national accounts.

Revisions

Since Statistics Norway gives a high priority to timeliness in the release of statistics, the index of household consumption of goods sometimes has to rely on preliminary estimates, which are replaced in subsequent releases.

The national accounts have recently carried out a revision of the time series . The index of household consumption of goods, which uses the same methods and definitions as the consumption calculations in the quarterly national accounts, is affected by this revision. Also, the reference year has been changed to 2005.

Seasonally-adjusted figures

As regards the seasonally-adjusted figures, the figures for previous periods may be revised when a new month is added to the series. For further information, see About seasonal adjustments in the left margin.