Harmonised inflation experienced a significant drop in June 2023 compared to the same period last year, reaching its lowest level in almost two years. The decline was primarily driven by a notable decrease in energy prices.
According to data released by the Statistical Service on Wednesday, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) showed a 2.8% increase between June 2022 and June 2023. On a monthly basis, the HICP rose by 0.3%, and during the period from January to June 2023, it recorded a 4.9% increase compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
The most notable changes compared to June 2022 were observed in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, which rose by 10.6%, and Transport, which decreased by 7.2%. Meanwhile, when compared to May 2023, the largest changes were seen in the categories of Restaurants and Hotels, which went up by 2.8%, and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels, which experienced a decline of 2.8%.
Looking at the period from January to June 2023, the most significant changes compared to the corresponding period of the previous year were noted in Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels, with a rise of 9.7%, followed by Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, which increased by 8.9%, and Restaurants and Hotels, which saw a 7.1% increase.
Analysing the economic origin, the largest changes when compared to the index of June 2022 were found in Energy, with a notable decrease of 15.4%, and Food-Alcoholic Beverages-Tobacco, which rose by 8.9%.
Compared to the previous month’s index, the most substantial change was observed in the category of Energy, which went down by 3.4%.
Excluding consumption tax increases, the HICP, and thus inflation, saw a meagre 0.05% increase in the first half of 2023 (January – June) compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. This marks the lowest six-month annual rate of inflation increase since the first half of 2021.
To put it into perspective, in the second half of 2022, inflation surged by 4.75%, while in the first half of the same year, it rose by 4.36% when compared to the corresponding period of 2021.