Inflation slows to 3-year low of 1.5% – flash CSO data

The annual rate of inflation rose at the slowest rate in more than three years in June, increasing by 1.5% year-on-year compared to a rate of 2% in May, a flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) from the Central Statistics Office today.

Irish HICP had fallen to 1.6% in April from a near 40-year high of 9.6% in the middle of 2022, before nudging up again in May.

Core HICP, which excludes energy and unprocessed food, fell to 2.3% in June from 2.5% in May, the Central Statistics Office said.

The CSO said that HICP increased by 0.3% on a monthly basis.

The HICP for the euro zone for June has shown an annual increase of 2.6%.

Looking at the components of the flash reading in June, the CSO said that energy prices are estimated to have fallen by 1% in the month and decreased by 5.6% over the 12 months to June.

Food prices are estimated to have eased by 0.1% in the last month and increased by 2% in the last year, while transport costs have gone up by 0.8% in the month and risen by 5.2% compared to June last year.

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Today’s “flash” inflation figures are from the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), a measure used to compare prices across the EU.

It differs from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which remains the official measure of inflation in Ireland.

The CPI includes mortgage interest repayments which do not form part of the HICP.

Eurostat is due to publish flash estimates of inflation from the European Union tomorrow, while the CSO will publish its inflation figures for June later this month.