Consumer price index increased by 1.8 percent in November
The Consumer Price Index increased by 1.8 percent in November compared to November 2018, figures from Statistics Estonia show.
The newly released figures show the change of the consumer price index in November 2019 was -0.2 percent compared to October 2019 and 1.8 percent compared to November 2018.
Compared to November 2018, goods were 1.1 percent and services 3.1 percent more expensive. Regulated prices of goods and services fell by 1.9 percent and non-regulated prices rose by 2.9 percent.
The consumer price index was affected most by the price increase of food and non-alcoholic beverages. The biggest impact on the latter came from 4.9 percent more expensive meat products and 5.6 percent more expensive flour products.
Alcoholic beverages were 7.7 percent and diesel fuel 2.1 percent cheaper, while petrol was 0.1 percent more expensive.
The biggest price increases for food were for rice (16 percent) and crisps (11 percent) and the biggest price decrease for spirits and liqueurs (11 percent) and potatoes (13 percent).
Compared to October, the consumer price index was affected the most by the price decrease of plane tickets. Plane tickets bought in November were 26.7 percent cheaper than tickets purchased in October. Food also had a significant impact – the prices of meat products increased by 0.9 percent and the prices of fish products by 3.6 percent.
Analysis
SEB analyst Mihkel Nestor said that the relatively low inflation indicator in Estonia in November reflects the impact of the drop in energy prices and the excise duty reform.
Nestor told BNS that, on the other hand, food prices, which have a major impact on household budgets, increased quite substantially, by nearly 3 percent.
He said the consumer price index is still reflecting rapid wage growth. "Thus, prices for entertainment services have risen at a pace of more than 7 percent in recent months," he added.
The Estonian consumer price index for November 2019 was 0.2 percent lower than the index for October 2019 and 1.8 percent higher than the index for November 2018, Statistics Estonia said on Friday.
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Editor: Helen Wright
