Annual Inflation Falls To 4.3% In January

The E.U. Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) fell by 0.7% in the month, compared to a decrease of 0.6% in January 2007.

The annual rate of inflation, as measured by the HICP, decreased from 3.2% in December to 3.1% in January.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels, Food & Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Education and Health (+5.2%).

The annual rate of inflation for Services was 5.1% in January, while Goods increased by 3.3% in the year.

The most significant monthly price changes were decreases in Clothing & Footwear (down 12.9%) and Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (down 2.9%).

These were offset by increases in Health (up 2.9%), Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (up 0.8%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels (up 0.4%) and Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages (up 0.4%).

The CPI (excluding tobacco) index decreased by 0.6% in the month and was up 4.3% in the year. The CPI (excluding energy products) index was down 0.7% since December and increased by 3.9% in the year. The CPI (excluding mortgage interest) decreased by 0.7% in the month and rose by 3.0% in the year.