Consumer price index continued to rise
According to Statistics Estonia, the change of the consumer price index in August 2018 was 0.5% compared to July 2018 and 3.6% compared to August of the previous year.
Compared to August 2017, goods were 3.1% and services 4.4% more expensive. Regulated prices of goods and services have risen by 8.1% and non-regulated prices by 2.3% compared to August of the previous year.
Compared to August 2017, the consumer price index was affected the most by housing and operation of personal transport equipment, each of which contributed over a quarter of the total increase of the index. More than half of the impact of housing expenditure was due to 14.2% more expensive electricity that reached homes and another fifth of the impact was due to 21.3% more expensive solid fuels. Petrol was 17% and diesel fuel 14.6% more expensive than in August 2017. Compared to August 2017, of food products, the biggest price increases were seen for frozen fruit and berries (26%) and eggs (22%), and the biggest price decrease was seen for sugar (25%) and fresh and chilled fish (22%).
In August, compared to July, the consumer price index was affected the most by the ending of sales of clothing and footwear and a seasonal price fall by 14.5% of fresh vegetables. A greater impact on the monthly change was also exerted by plane tickets, which were 9.5% more expensive than the ones bought for July, and by various sales of alcoholic beverages.
| Commodity group | August 2017 – August 2018, % | July 2018 – August 2018, % |
|---|---|---|
| TOTAL | 3.6 | 0.5 |
| Food and non-alcoholic beverages | 1.9 | -0.2 |
| Alcoholic beverages and tobacco | 5.4 | -1.4 |
| Clothing and footwear | 0.2 | 5.0 |
| Housing | 6.8 | 0.3 |
| Household goods | 0.8 | 1.2 |
| Health | 5.4 | 0.2 |
| Transport | 5.9 | 0.6 |
| Communications | -3.7 | -0.1 |
| Recreation and culture | 3.7 | 0.6 |
| Education | -3.9 | 0.0 |
| Hotels, cafés and restaurants | 5.5 | 1.1 |
| Miscellaneous goods and services | 4.1 | 1.1 |
Statistics Estonia publishes the consumer price index on the 5th working day of each month, after the end of the reporting period. For the statistical activity “Consumer price index”, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Finance, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data necessary for conducting the statistical activity.