Consumer prices increased by 0.1% on a monthly basis. This development was mainly influenced by the rise in prices in the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector, as well as in the clothing and footwear sector, offset by the decline in prices in the real estate sector. On an annual basis, in October, consumer prices increased by 8.5%, which is 1.6 percentage points higher than in September.
Month-to-month comparison
On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 0.1% in October. In the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector, prices of pork increased by 5.0%, eggs by 10.8%, fruit by 3.0%, vegetables by 2.2%, semi-skimmed milk by 5.8%, and butter by 5.0%. In the clothing and footwear sector, clothing prices increased by 2.2%, and footwear prices by 3.2%.
The monthly price decrease was mainly recorded in the real estate sector, where electricity prices decreased by 1.7%, natural gas by 3.0%, and heating and hot water by 0.8%. Among food items, prices of non-alcoholic beverages decreased by 2.0%, poultry by 2.3%, potatoes by 5.4%, yogurt by 3.8%, and sugar by 5.2%. Overall, goods prices remained at the September level, while service prices increased by 0.2%.
Year-over-year comparison
“The acceleration of price growth compared to the previous year in October at 8.5% is mainly due to the projection of the electricity savings tariff from last year. If we do not include this savings tariff in the calculation, the price increase would be 5.8%,” said Pavla Šedivá, head of the consumer price statistics department at the CZSO. On an annual basis, in October, consumer prices increased by 8.5%, which is 1.6 percentage points higher than in September. This acceleration of year-over-year price growth was mainly influenced by prices in the real estate sector. Electricity prices accelerated their year-over-year growth to 148.6% (16.5% in September), mainly due to their significant decrease in October 2022. In contrast, natural gas prices slowed their growth to 6.2% (12.5% in September), heating and hot water prices to 31.0% (36.2% in September), and solid fuels to 3.9% (compared to 12.9% in September). A slight increase in prices in the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector also influenced the price trend compared to the previous year. Bread prices in October increased by 5.1% (10.3% in September), vegetables by 12.4% (20.4% in September), with potato prices increasing by 48.5% (63.4% in September). Egg prices decreased by 6.2% (+7.5% in September), and sugar prices by 11.1% (+44.6% in September). In October, real estate prices had the greatest influence on the year-over-year price increase, where, in addition to the above, apartment rental prices increased by 7.9%, water by 16.3%, and sewage by 26.9%. Second in terms of influence are prices in the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector (an increase of 3.7%). In the leisure and culture sector, prices of holidays with full services increased by 11.6%. In the restaurant and accommodation sector, restaurant service prices increased by 8.9%, and accommodation service prices by 12.2%. Prices in the transportation sector contributed to the decrease in price levels compared to the previous year in October, where car prices decreased by 4.3%, and fuel and oil prices by 7.3%. Ownership costs (imputed rent) did not change on an annual basis (0.1% growth in September). The general index of consumer prices, excluding the cost of housing, was 109.7%. Goods prices increased by 10.1%, and service prices by 6.1%. The inflation rate, expressed by the increase in the average consumer price index over the last 12 months compared to the average of the previous 12 months, was 12.1% in October (12.7% in September). The level of the base consumer price index for the 2015 average base period was 148.1% in October (148.0% in September).
Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)
According to preliminary calculations, the monthly variation of HICP in the Czech Republic was 0.0%, and the annual variation was 9.5% in October (8.3% in September). According to Eurostat’s rapid estimates, the year-over-year variation of HICP in October 2023 was 2.9% for the Eurozone (4.3% in September), 3.0% in Germany. It was the highest in October in Slovakia (7.8%) and the lowest in Belgium (a decrease of 1.7%). According to preliminary Eurostat data, in September, the year-over-year variation of HICP for the 27 EU member states was 4.9%, 1.0 percentage points less than in August. The maximum was recorded in Hungary (12.2%) in September, and the minimum in the Netherlands (a decrease of 0.3%).
