The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 7.7% between March 2022 and March 2023, down from an annual increase of 8.5% in the 12 months to February 2023.
This is the eighteenth straight month where the annual increase in the CPI has been at least 5.0%.
The divisions with the largest increases in the 12 months to March 2023 were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+20.8%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+13.1%).
Education (-6.3%) was the only division to show a decrease when compared with March 2022.
Consumer prices rose by 1.1% in the month between February 2023 and March 2023.
The divisions with the largest increases in the month were Transport (+2.0%) and Restaurants & Hotels (+1.9%).
The only divisions to show a fall in the month were Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.2%) and Communications (-0.2%).
This is an audio file with a 36-second quote from CSO statistician with the Prices Division, Anthony Dawson, about the March 2023 Consumer Price Index release.
Media outlets have permission to use the clip as long as they credit the CSO.
Figure 1 shows the development of the CPI and HICP over recent months. It also shows the recent divergence of the CPI and HICP. This divergence is due to some items having different weights in the respective indices.
CPI and HICP | |||||||
CPI | HICP | ||||||
% monthly change | % annual change | % monthly change | % annual change | ||||
Nov 2022 | 0.3 | 8.9 | 0.2 | 9.0 | |||
Dec 2022 | -0.2 | 8.2 | -0.3 | 8.2 | |||
Jan 2023 | -0.8 | 7.8 | -1.0 | 7.5 | |||
Feb 2023 | 1.6 | 8.5 | 1.5 | 8.1 | |||
Mar 2023 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 7.0 |
X-axis label | CPI | HICP |
---|---|---|
Mar 2022 | 6.7 | 6.9 |
Apr 2022 | 7 | 7.3 |
May 2022 | 7.8 | 8.3 |
Jun 2022 | 9.1 | 9.6 |
Jul 2022 | 9.1 | 9.6 |
Aug 2022 | 8.7 | 9 |
Sep 2022 | 8.2 | 8.6 |
Oct 2022 | 9.2 | 9.4 |
Nov 2022 | 8.9 | 9 |
Dec 2022 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
Jan 2023 | 7.8 | 7.5 |
Feb 2023 | 8.5 | 8.1 |
Mar 2023 | 7.7 | 7 |
Prices on average, as measured by the CPI, were 7.7% higher in March 2023 compared with March 2022.
The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+20.8%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+13.1%), Restaurants & Hotels (+8.9%) and Clothing & Footwear (+6.7%). There was a decrease in Education (-6.3%).
Consumer Prices in March, as measured by the CPI, increased by 1.1% in the month. During March of last year, prices rose by 1.9% in the month. The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Transport (+2.0%) and Restaurants & Hotels (+1.9%). There were decreases in Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.2%) and Communications (-0.2%).
Table 3 shows the contribution of each 2-digit COICOP1 division to the overall change in the CPI. A detailed breakdown of the individual components of each of the 12 COICOP divisions is presented in Tables 4 to 15.
The divisions which caused the largest upward contribution to the CPI in the year were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+3.55%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+1.45%), Restaurants & Hotels (+1.36%) and Recreation & Culture (+0.32%).
The only division to cause a downward contribution to the CPI in the year was Education (-0.10%).
The main factors contributing to the annual change were as follows:
1Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose Adapted to the Needs of Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (2000).
The divisions which caused the largest upward contribution to the CPI in the month were Restaurants & Hotels (+0.30%) and Transport (+0.27%). The divisions which caused the largest downward contribution to the CPI in the month were Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.01%) and Communications (-0.01%).
The main factors contributing to the monthly change were as follows:
Tables 4 to 15 detail all COICOP1 sub-indices of the CPI.
Table 2 and table 17 detail selected consumer price index sub-indices. The sub index for Services rose by 10.5% in the year to March, while Goods increased by 4.1%. Services, excluding mortgage interest repayments, increased by 9.1% in the year since March 2022.
The CPI excluding tobacco increased by 1.1% in the month of March and rose by 7.6% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest rose by 1.0% in the month and increased by 6.8% in the year.
1Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose Adapted to the Needs of Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (2000).
Prices on average, as measured by the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), increased by 7.0% compared with March 2022.
Table 19 details the COICOP sub-indices for the HICP. The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+18.5%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+13.2%), Restaurants & Hotels (+8.8%) and Clothing & Footwear (+6.8%). There was a decrease in Education (-6.2%).
The HICP increased by 0.9% in the month. This compares to an increase of 2.1% recorded in March of last year.
The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Transport (+2.2%) and Restaurants & Hotels (+1.8%). There were decreases in Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.2%) and Communications (-0.2%).
National Average Prices for selected goods and services for March 2023 are detailed in Table 20.
Looking at the National Average Prices of some staple items:
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (13 April 2023) published the Consumer Price Index (CPI) March 2023.
Commenting on annual changes shown in the release, Anthony Dawson, Statistician in the Prices Division, said: “The latest publication for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that prices for consumer goods and services in March 2023 increased by 7.7% on average when compared with March 2022. This was down from 8.5% in the 12 months to February 2023. Prices have been rising on an annual basis since April 2021, with annual inflation of 5.0% or more recorded in each month since October 2021.
Annual Changes
The most significant increases in the year were seen in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels which was up 20.8% and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, which rose by 13.1%. Increased electricity (+62.7%) and gas (+85.9%) costs, along with higher mortgage interest repayments (+35.3%) are reflected in the yearly growth of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels. The annual change in Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages costs reflects a rise in prices across a range of products such as sugar (+36.8%), frozen fish (+26.9%), fresh whole milk (+24.3%), butter (+21.0%), and eggs (+20.0%) compared with March 2022.
Education (-6.3%) was the only division to show a decrease when compared with March 2022.
Monthly Changes
Consumer prices in March rose by 1.1% in the month. During March 2022, prices rose by 1.9% in the month. The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Transport (+2.0%) and Restaurants & Hotels (+1.9%). Transport increased primarily due to higher prices for airfares.
Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.2%) and Communications (-0.2%) were the only divisions to show a decrease when compared with February 2023.
It should be noted that these figures relate to the CPI. The flash estimate published on 30 March 2023 related to the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)."
National Average Prices
The National Average Prices for selected goods and services for March are also published today. The National Average Prices are compiled together with the CPI. Commenting on the National Average Prices, Anthony Dawson said: “The National Average Price of a number of items rose in March 2023. There were price increases for an 800g loaf of white/brown sliced pan (+25c), 2 litres of full fat milk (+45c), and a pound of butter (+68c) when compared with March 2022.” The comprehensive list of items included in the National Average Prices and their monthly prices are available at: https://data.cso.ie/table/CPM12.