Inflation growth slows a touch to 8.9% in November

Kenneth Fox

Annual inflation rose by 8.9 per cent between November 2021 and November 2022, down from an annual increase of 9.2 per cent in the 12 months to October 2022.

The new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show it is the 14th straight month when the annual increase for the Consumer Price Index has been at least 5.0 per cent. The I measures the overall change in the prices of goods and services that people typically buy over time.

The categories with the largest increases in the year to November were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+27.1 per cent) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+11.2 per cent).

Education (-7.1 per cent) and Miscellaneous Goods & Services (-0.2 per cent) were the only categories to show a decrease when compared with November 2021.

Consumer prices rose by 0.3 per cent in the month between October 2022 and November 2022.

The divisions with the largest increases in the month were Clothing & Footwear (+1.9 per cent) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.7 per cent) while the only divisions to show a decrease in the month were Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (-0.4 per cent) and Education (-0.4 per cent).

Speaking about the figures, Anthony Dawson, statistician in the Prices Division said: “The latest publication for the Consumer Price Index (I) shows that prices for consumer goods and services in November 2022 increased by 8.9 per cent on average compared with November 2021, down from 9.2 per cent in the 12 months to October 2022.

"Prices have been rising on an annual basis since April 2021, with annual inflation of 5.0 per cent or more recorded in each month since October 2021."

Increased energy costs are reflected in the yearly increase of Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels with electricity up 63.5 per cent, gas up 88.7 per cent, liquid fuels (home heating oil) up 57.1 per cent and solid fuels up 46.8 per cent in the year.

The annual change in Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages costs reflects a rise in prices across a range of products such as fresh whole milk (+32.7 per cent), sugar (+24.8 per cent), butter (+23.0 per cent), eggs (+20.8 per cent) and bread (+17.7 per cent) compared with November 2021.

Consumer prices in November increased by 0.3 per cent in the month. During November of last year, prices rose by 0.6 per cent.

The most significant monthly price changes were increases in Clothing & Footwear (+1.9 per cent) and Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages (+0.7 per cent). Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages increased due to higher prices across a range of products such as meat, bread & cereals, milk, cheese & eggs and vegetables.