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54775
Weak trend in households’ consumption of goods
statistikk
2011-05-04T10:00:00.000Z
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 2011

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Weak trend in households’ consumption of goods

Seasonally-adjusted figures show that household consumption of goods was down 1 per cent from February to March, after a sharp rise in February. Excluding food and beverages, there was a general decline in household consumption.

Index of household consumption of goods, seasonally adjusted. 1995=100

Consumption of food, beverages and tobacco rose by 0.9 per cent from February to March, after falling the previous month.

The largest decrease was the purchase of vehicles and petrol, which showed a decline of 4.6 per cent from February to March. The decline comes after strong growth the previous month.

Household consumption of electricity and heating fuels showed a moderate decline of 0.4 per cent in March, while consumption of other goods fell by 1 per cent.

It is important to be aware that the uncertainty in the seasonally-adjusted indices for March and April is greater than normal due to the changed placing of Easter. The seasonally-adjusted indices take the placing of Easter into account, but it can still be difficult to adjust for all impacts caused by Easter.

Without adjustments for seasonal variations, the household consumption of goods was 4.4 per cent lower in March 2011 compared with March 2010.

Index of household consumption of goods, March 2011. Seasonally adjusted and unadjusted volume indices. March 2010-March 2011. 1995=1001
Period Sesonally adjusted Change from
previous month.
Per cent 		Unadjusted Change from
the same month
last year.
Per cent
2010        
March  153.1 0.2  157.7 14.2
April  151.6 -1.0  134.8 -1.0
May  151.9 0.2  145.3 0.2
June  153.4 1.0  160.6 5.7
July  153.7 0.2  158.8 2.8
August  153.3 -0.3  153.0 2.3
September  154.8 1.0  149.2 2.8
October  154.8 0.0  153.0 -0.7
November  159.1 2.8  163.6 9.5
December  155.6 -2.2  204.4 2.1
         
2011        
January  154.7 -0.6  143.4 -1.0
February  156.5 1.2  135.4 2.1
March  155.0 -1.0  150.7 -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.

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 column.