Inflatie in augustus 1,6% (en)

Euro area1 annual inflation was 1.6% in August 20102, down from 1.7% in July. A year earlier the rate was -0.2%. Monthly inflation was 0.2% in August 2010.

EU3 annual inflation was 2.0% in August 2010, down from 2.1% in July. A year earlier the rate was 0.6%. Monthly inflation was 0.2% in August 2010.

These figures come from Eurostat i, the statistical office of the European Union.

Inflation in the EU Member States

In August 2010, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (-1.2%), Latvia (-0.4%) and Germany (1.0%), and the highest in Romania (7.6%), Greece (5.6%) and Hungary (3.6%). Compared with July 2010, annual inflation rose in ten, remained stable in nine and fell in eight Member States.

The lowest 12-month averages4 up to August 2010 were registered in Ireland (-2.3%), Latvia (-2.0%), Portugal and Slovakia (both 0.3%), and the highest in Hungary and Romania (both 5.0%) and Greece (3.5%).

Euro area

The main components with the highest annual rates in August 2010 were alcohol & tobacco and transport (both 3.3%) and housing (2.6%), while the lowest annual rates were observed for communications (-0.5%), recreation & culture (-0.1%) and clothing (0.2%). Concerning the detailed sub-indices, fuels for transport (+0.31 percentage points), heating oil (+0.13) and vegetables (+0.08) had the largest upward impacts on the headline rate, while garments (-0.08) and telecommunications (-0.07) had the biggest downward impacts.

The main components with the highest monthly rates were clothing (1.8%), recreation & culture, hotels & restaurants and miscellaneous goods & services (0.3% each), while the lowest were food (-0.2%), health (-0.1%) and transport (0.0%). In particular, garments (+0.09 percentage points) had the largest upward impact, while fruit and fuels for transport (-0.04 each) had the biggest downward impacts.

Annual inflation (%) in August 2010 in ascending order

Euro area

EU Member States outside the euro area

Inflation rates in %, measured by HICPs

Source: Eurostat p = provisional

Euro area inflation rates in % for main components, measured by HICPs

Source: Eurostat * FoodAlcTob = Food, alcohol and tobacco p = provisional

Euro area sub-indices with most important impacts

Source: Eurostat p = provisional

Measures of inflation

An annual rate measures the price change between the current month and the same month of the previous year. This measure is responsive to recent changes in price levels but can be influenced by one-off effects in either month.

A 12-month average rate overcomes this volatility by comparing average Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices (HICPs) in the latest 12 months to the average of the previous 12 months. This measure is less sensitive to transient changes in prices.

A monthly rate compares price levels between the two latest months. Although up-to-date, it can be affected by seasonal and other effects.

An impact of a particular component measures the change in the headline inflation due to the inclusion of that component in the HICP. The impact takes account of both the weight and whether the inflation for that component is higher or lower than the all-items inflation rate. For example, the impact of ‘tobacco’ is equal to the difference between the all-items inflation rate and the rate for ‘all-items excluding tobacco’. Impacts are not strictly additive.

HICPs designed for international comparison

Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices (HICPs) are harmonised inflation figures required under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. They are designed for international comparison of consumer price inflation.

Price changes as measured by the HICPs, the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP), the European Index of Consumer Prices (EICP) and the European Economic Area Index of Consumer Prices (EEAICP) are used as measures of inflation in the Member States, in the euro area, in the European Union, and in the European Economic Area.

The MUICP is used by, among others, the European Central Bank (ECB) as a main indicator for monetary policy management for the euro area (see ECB press release, 8 May 2003).

The Member States’ HICPs are supplied by the National Statistical Institutes; the MUICP, EICP and EEAICP are compiled by Eurostat. HICPs are computed as annual chain indices allowing weights to be changed each year. HICP aggregates are calculated as weighted averages of the HICPs using the weights of the countries and sub-indices concerned. The weight of a country is its share of the household final monetary consumption expenditure in the total of the country group. For the MUICP this is expressed in euro, for the EICP and the EEAICP it is expressed in Purchasing Power Standards. The MUICP is treated as a single entity within the EICP and EEAICP starting from 1999.

Additional information

More information on HICPs can be obtained from the monthly publication Data in focus, Economy and Finance on "Harmonized indices of consumer prices". About 100 MUICP, EICP, EEAICP and HICP sub-indices with corresponding weights are available in Eurostat’s database. Further details can be found on the HICP section of the Eurostat website: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/hicp/introduction.

Future release dates

Scheduled publication dates for the coming months are:

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  Euro area inflation is measured by the MUICP (’Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices’ as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 of 23 October 1995) which is the official euro area aggregate. The euro area initially included Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland. Greece was included from January 2001, Slovenia from January 2007, Cyprus and Malta from January 2008 and Slovakia from January 2009. New Member States are integrated into the MUICP using a chain index formula.

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  The MUICP flash estimate for August 2010, published on 31 August 2010, was 1.6%.

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  EU inflation is measured by the EICP (’European Index of Consumer Prices’ as defined in Council Regulation (EC)

  No 2494/95 of 23 October 1995) which is the official EU aggregate. The EU included 15 Member States until April 2004,

  25 Member States from May 2004 until December 2006 and 27 Member States from January 2007. New Member States are integrated into the EICP using a chain index formula.

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  e stability in Convergence reports by the Commission to the Council.

Eurostat News Releases on the internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat

Selected Principal European Economic Indicators: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/euroindicators