The HICP annual average inflation (expressed as the change in the average of harmonized index of consumer prices for the last 12 months over the average of the previous 12 months) was 1.8 % in August 2021; this is by 0,1 percentage point more than the rate in July 2021.
In August 2021, the annual inflation rate, comparing the price level of the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) in August 2021, to August 2020, increased to 3,3 %. In July 2021, the value was 2.9 %.
The month-on-month HICP inflation reached 0.4 % in August 2021. Prices increased in the following divisions of the COICOP classification: Furniture, household equipment and routine household maintenance (positive contribution of 0.09 percentage point to 0.4% month-on-month inflation), Transport (positive contribution of 0.07 p.p.), Miscellaneous goods and services (positive contribution 0.07 p.p.), Recreation and culture (positive contribution 0.03 p.p.), Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels (positive contribution 0.02 p.p.), Restaurants and hotels (positive contribution 0.02 p.p.), Health (positive contribution 0.01 p.p.). On the other hand, the dampening effect on month-on-month inflation was due to the lower prices in the following branches: Alcoholic beverages and tobacco (negative contribution -0.02 p.p.), Food and non-alcoholic beverages (negative contribution -0.03 p.p., of which month-on-month decrease in Food prices (negative contribution -0.01 p.p.) and the month-on-month decrease in the prices of Non-alcoholic beverages (negative contribution -0.02 p.p.)), Clothing and footwear (negative contribution -0.04 p.p.).
Data on Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP) are published on the day of their publication by Eurostat; usually a few days after the national CPI inflation release. This is inflation according to the uniform EU methodology in order to ensure the mutual comparability of consumer price indices between countries. Consumer baskets differ in part. The HICP, unlike the CPI, does not include the components "Imputed rents" and selected items related to major repairs and household maintenance, which results in certain differences in the weights of the components.