Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices down 0.3 per cent over June

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices went down by 0.3 per cent over June, according to data released by the National Statistics Office last week.

The movement primarily reflected a drop of 12.1 per cent in the clothing and footwear index because of seasonal sales and discounts.

The food and non-alcoholic beverages index was down by 1.2 per cent as a result of lower fruit prices. Cheaper materials for the maintenance and repair of households caused the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels index to dip by 0.2 per cent.

The furniture, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house index edged down by 0.1 per cent, mainly due to a reduction in the price of household textiles and non-durable goods.

The NSO said a similar downward shift was recorded in the health index, mostly due to lower prices of pharmaceuticals, and in the communication index due to lower-priced mobile phones.

The transport index went up by 1.9 per cent, mainly due to costlier air fares. Seasonally higher prices for accommodation services caused the restaurants and hotels index to go up by 1.6 per cent.

Higher-priced package holidays were the main reason behind an increase of 1.1 per cent in the recreation and culture index. The alcoholic beverages and tobacco index went up by 0.4 per cent, mainly due to a small increase in the price of wine.

In July, the 12-month moving average rate of inflation stood at 2.8 per cent and the annual rate of inflation stood at 2.2 per cent.

The HICP is used to compare inflation rates across the EU. Since January 1999 the European Central Bank has also used it as the measure of price stability across the eurozone.