Rising rent, tobacco push inflation to 0.9% in September

Consumer prices rose just under 1 per cent in the year to September, new data from the Central Statistics Office showed.

That compared to 0.7 per cent over the 12-month period to the end of August.

Higher prices for tobacco products last month pushed the prices for the alcoholic beverages and tobacco index up 3.1 per cent, while rising rents saw housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels rise 3 per cent. Excluding tobacco, the consumer price index rise rose by 0.7 per cent over the year, with a similar impact for mortgage interest.

Other sectors that contributed to the yearly change were restaurants and hotels, which saw prices rise 2.3 per cent as higher prices for alcoholic drinks and food offset cheaper accommodation prices, and the education sector, which rose 1.7 per cent.

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Offsetting that were decreases in the cost of communications, which fell by 6.7 per cent, and a 2.7 per cent fall in the cost of furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance. The cost of clothing and footwear fell 1.7 per cent, as sales had an impact.

Decline

Month on month, consumer prices fell 0.2 per cent, compared with 0.4 per cent in the prior year. The decline was led by a 2.6 per cent fall in the cost of transport, while food and non-alcoholic beverages were down 0.9 per cent. Balancing up the scales were increases in the cost of clothing and footwear as prices recovered from the sales, and increases in rent and mortgage interest. Excluding tobacco moved the decrease to 0.3 per cent.

The services sub index rose by 2.6 per cent over the year to September, with goods down 1.6 per cent.

The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) saw prices rise 0.6 per cent year on year and fall by 0.3 per cent month on month.