In September 2023, the year-on-year price increase slowed down to 6.9%, marking the eighth consecutive month of dropping inflation. Photo: TMA for Brno Daily.
Brno, Oct 10 (BD) – This decline of 1.6 percentage points from August brings consumer prices down to their lowest level since December 2021, said Pavla Šedivá, Head of the Department of Consumer Prices at the Czech Statistical Office (CSU).
Month-on-month comparison
Compared to the previous month, consumer prices decreased by 0.7% in September. This decline was primarily driven by lower prices in the categories of “recreation and culture”, “food and non-alcoholic beverages”, and “housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.”
- In “recreation and culture,” prices dropped by 21.9%, mainly due to the end of the summer season affecting package holiday prices.
- “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” saw lower prices across various items, including a 3.8% decrease in fruit prices, a 2.9% decrease in vegetable prices (with potatoes down by 2.7%), and a 9.2% drop in egg prices.
- Prices in “housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels” decreased mainly because of lower prices for natural gas (down 3.6%), electricity (down 2.0%), and solid fuels (down 1.3%). On the other hand, transport prices increased, primarily due to previous higher fuel prices.
According to CSU, prices of goods increased by 0.7%, while prices of services rose by 0.8%.
Year-on-year comparison
Year-on-year, consumer prices increased by 6.9% in September, a drop of 1.6 percentage points compared to August. This slowdown was primarily observed in the categories of “housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels” and “food and non-alcoholic beverages.”
The largest impact on year-on-year price levels in September came from “housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels,” where prices for rentals, water supply, sewage collection, and heating increased significantly. “Food and non-alcoholic beverages” also played a significant role, with notable price increases for potatoes and sugar.
The inflation rate, which measures the average consumer price increase over the past twelve months, stood at 12.7% in September (down from 13.6% in August).
The Overall Consumer Price Index, excluding housing costs, was at 107.7%, year-on-year.
Prices of goods increased by 7.0%, while services saw a 6.7% increase.
Highest EU Inflation in Slovakia, Lowest in Netherlands
According to preliminary data, the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in the Czech Republic decreased by 0.8% month-on-month but increased by 8.3% year-on-year in September. Eurostat’s flash estimates reported a year-on-year change of 4.3% for the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP) in September 2023, with the highest inflation in Slovakia (8.9%) and the lowest in the Netherlands (0.3%).
Across EU27 member states, the average HICP change in August was 5.9%, with Hungary experiencing the highest inflation (14.2%) and Denmark the lowest (2.3%).
