Annual harmonized inflation rose to 3.0% in July 2024
The annual inflation measured by the harmonized index of consumer prices according to the European harmonized methodology reached the value 3.0% in July 2024, which was 0.6 percentage points higher than its value in the previous month.
Annual inflation compares the change in the price level in the observed month of a given year compared to the price level of the same month in the previous year.
The average annual rate of HICP inflation (comparing change in the average price level for the average of the harmonized consumer price indices for the last 12 months compared to the average of the previous 12 months) reached in July 2024 the value 5.0%, which represents a decrease of 0.6 percentage points compared to its value in June 2024. The average annual HICP inflation rate is an important indicator of a country’s price stability, its level is also considered as one of the four so-called Maastricht criteria that an EU Member State must meet before adopting the euro.
In July 2024, the total harmonized index of consumer prices increased by 0.3% compared to the previous month. The month-on-month increase in the index was mainly influenced by the increase in prices in the divisions: Food and non-alcoholic beverages (the total positive contribution to month-on-month inflation was +0.07 percentage points) and Recreation and culture (the increase in prices of organized holiday tours contributed the most to the total positive contribution of +0.07 p.p.). A higher positive contribution to the month-on-month inflation (+0.05 p.p.) was also recorded in the divisions: Transport, Communications, Miscellaneous goods and services. On the contrary, the drop in prices and the highest negative contribution to the month-on-month inflation was achieved in the division Clothing and footwear (the negative contribution of the entire division was -0.03 p.p.).
The resulting summary of harmonized inflation within Europe for July 2024 can be found on 20th August 2024 from 11 a.m. on the Eurostat website.
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