The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 5.1% between October 2022 and October 2023, down from an annual increase of 6.4% in the 12 months to September 2023.
The annual growth in the CPI has been over 5.0% since October 2021.
Excluding energy and unprocessed food, the CPI was up by 6.3% in the 12 months to October 2023.
All divisions increased when compared with October 2022.
The divisions with the largest increases in the 12 months to October 2023 were Recreation & Culture (+9.7%), Restaurants & Hotels (+7.7%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+7.2%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+7.0%).
Consumer prices rose by 0.3% in the month between September 2023 and October 2023.
The divisions with the largest growth in the month were Education (+2.0%) and Transport (+1.1%).
The divisions with the largest declines in the month were Restaurants & Hotels (-0.5%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-0.2%).
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 primarily due to the fact that the CPI includes mortgage interest whereas the HICP does not include mortgage interest.
| CPI and HICP | |||||||
| CPI | HICP | ||||||
| % monthly change | % annual change | % monthly change | % annual change | ||||
| Jun 2023 | 0.8 | 6.1 | 0.8 | 4.8 | |||
| Jul 2023 | 0.2 | 5.8 | 0.2 | 4.6 | |||
| Aug 2023 | 0.7 | 6.3 | 0.5 | 4.9 | |||
| Sep 2023 | 0.1 | 6.4 | 0.1 | 5.0 | |||
| Oct 2023 | 0.3 | 5.1 | 0.2 | 3.6 | |||
| X-axis label | CPI | HICP |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Apr 2023 | 7.2 | 6.3 |
| May 2023 | 6.6 | 5.4 |
| Jun 2023 | 6.1 | 4.8 |
| Jul 2023 | 5.8 | 4.6 |
| Aug 2023 | 6.3 | 4.9 |
| Sep 2023 | 6.4 | 5 |
| Oct 2023 | 5.1 | 3.6 |
Prices on average, as measured by the CPI, were 5.1% higher in October 2023 compared with October 2022.
The most notable changes in the year were increases in Recreation & Culture (+9.7%), Restaurants & Hotels (+7.7%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+7.2%) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+7.0%). There were no decreases when compared with October 2022.
Consumer Prices in October, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.3% in the month. During October of last year, prices rose by 1.6% in the month. The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Education (+2.0%) and Transport (+1.1%). There were decreases in Restaurants & Hotels (-0.5%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-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 percentage point (pp) contributions to the CPI in the year were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+1.36 pp), Restaurants & Hotels (+1.22 pp), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.75 pp) and Recreation & Culture (+0.67 pp).
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 percentage point contributions to the CPI in the month were Transport (+0.15 pp) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (+0.13 pp). The divisions which caused the largest downward percentage point contributions to the CPI in the month were Restaurants & Hotels (-0.07 pp) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-0.05 pp).
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 7.1% in the year to October, while Goods increased by 2.5%. Services, excluding mortgage interest repayments, increased by 5.1% in the year since October 2022.
The CPI excluding tobacco increased by 0.2% in the month of October and rose by 5.1% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest rose by 0.3% in the month and increased by 3.9% 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 3.6% compared with October 2022.
Table 19 details the COICOP sub-indices for the HICP. The most notable changes in the year were increases in Recreation & Culture (+9.7%), Restaurants & Hotels (+7.8%), Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+7.1%) and Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+4.2%). There were decreases in Health (-0.7%) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-0.2%).
The HICP increased by 0.2% in the month. This compares to an increase of 1.5% recorded in October of last year.
The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Education (+2.0%) and Transport (+1.2%). There were decreases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-0.8%) and Restaurants & Hotels (-0.4%).
National Average Prices for selected goods and services for October 2023 are detailed in Table 20.
Looking at the National Average Prices of some staple items:
To calculate the percentage change in the CPI between two periods of time
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (09 November 2023) published the Consumer Price Index (CPI) October 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 October 2023 rose by 5.1% on average when compared with October 2022. This was down from 6.4% in the 12 months to September 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 rises in the year were seen in Recreation & Culture, which was up 9.7%, Restaurants & Hotels, which was up by 7.7%, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels, which grew by +7.2% and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, which rose by +7.0%. Prices for package holidays (+43.5%) are reflected in the yearly growth of Recreation & Culture.
There were increases in all COICOP divisions when compared with October 2022.
Monthly Changes
Consumer prices in October 2023 rose by 0.3% in the month. During October 2022, prices grew by 1.6% in the month. In October 2023, the most significant monthly price changes were increases in Education (+2.0%) and Transport (+1.1%). Education rose mainly due to an increase in the costs associated with participating in third level and second level education while transport was up primarily due to higher prices for airfares, diesel and petrol.
Restaurants & Hotels (-0.5%) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (-0.2%) were the divisions to show the largest declines when compared with September 2023.
It should be noted that these figures relate to the CPI. The flash estimate published on 27 October 2023 related to the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). (See Background Notes for differences between CPI and HICP)"
National Average Prices
The National Average Prices for selected goods and services for October 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 October 2023. There were price increases for an 800g loaf of white sliced pan (+2c), an 800g loaf of brown sliced pan (+4c), two litres of full fat milk (+6c), and a pound of butter (+4c) when compared with October 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.