The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for Ireland is estimated to have risen by 4.9% in the 12 months to August 2023 and increased by 0.5% since July 2023.
This compares with HICP inflation of 4.6% in Ireland in the 12 months to July 2023 and an annual increase of 5.3% in the HICP for the Eurozone in the same period.
Looking at the components of the flash HICP for Ireland in August 2023, energy prices are estimated to have increased by 3.4% in the month and risen by 5.1% over the 12 months to August 2023.
Food prices remained the same in the last month and rose by 7.7% in the last 12 months.
Excluding energy and unprocessed food, The HICP is estimated to have increased by 4.8% since August 2022.
Eurostat will publish the August 2023 flash estimates of inflation from the EU HICP for the Eurozone on 31 August 2023.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the official measure of inflation for Ireland and is published monthly by the CSO. The CPI release for August 2023 will be published on 07 September 2023 and the final results of the HICP for Ireland for August 2023 will be published as part of the CPI release. The HICP is an index of consumer prices that has been harmonised to allow comparisons across Eurozone countries. The CSO compile the HICP flash estimates and final results for Ireland and submit those to Eurostat who then compile the Eurozone estimate and publish that along with the results for the countries within the Eurozone. While the final HICP results for the Eurozone are usually published by Eurostat around the middle of the month following the reference month, flash estimates are issued around the end of each reference month.
The Eurostat publication of flash estimate data can be found on the Eurostat website at 10am on 31 August 2023: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/home. Eurostat are expected to publish the final HICP results for the Eurozone for August 2023 at 10am on 19 September 2023.
The flash estimates of HICP have been published for some countries within the Eurozone by Eurostat each month since January 2019. Ireland has been included in the publication of the country breakdowns of the flash estimates process since November 2019.
Please note that these flash HICP estimates are subject to revision when the final results are published. For 28 of the 45 months since November 2019 when the CSO’s flash estimate has been published by Eurostat, there was no difference between Ireland’s flash estimate and final result of the HICP. There was a difference of 0.1 percentage points for 15 of the months while one month in 2020 had a difference of 0.2 percentage points and another had a difference of 0.3 percentage points.
| Anthony Dawson | (+353) 21 453 5521 |
|---|---|
| cpi@cso.ie |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (30 August 2023) published the flash estimates of inflation from the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for Ireland for August 2023. Eurostat will publish the figures for the whole of the Eurozone, including Ireland, tomorrow 31 August 2023.
Commenting on the data published today, Anthony Dawson, Statistician in the Prices Division, said: “The latest flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), compiled by the CSO, indicates that prices for consumer goods and services in Ireland are estimated to have increased by 4.9% in the past year. Looking at the components of the flash HICP in Ireland for August 2023, energy prices are estimated to have risen by 3.4% in the month and increased by 5.1% since August 2022. The HICP excluding energy and unprocessed food prices is estimated to have increased by 4.8% since August 2022.
Food prices are estimated to have remained the same as last month and were up by 7.7% in the last 12 months. Transport costs have risen by 0.7% in the month and decreased by 1.5% in the 12 months to August 2023.
The corresponding rate for the Eurozone will be published tomorrow 31 August 2023. These flash estimates are subject to revision when the final HICP results are published next month (See Editor’s Note below).”