Inflatie eurozone gedaald tot 0,6% (en)

Euro area annual inflation down to 0.6%

EU down to 1.3%

Euro area¹ annual inflation was 0.6% in March 2009², down from 1.2% in February. A year earlier the rate was 3.6%. Monthly inflation was 0.4% in March 2009.

EU³ annual inflation was 1.3% in March 2009, down from 1.8% in February. A year earlier the rate was 3.8%. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in March 2009.

These figures come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.

Inflation in the EU Member States

In March 2009, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (-0.7%), Portugal (-0.6%) and Luxembourg

(-0.3%), and the highest in Latvia (7.9%), Lithuania (7.4%) and Romania (6.7%). Compared with February 2009, annual inflation fell in twenty-two Member States and rose in four.

The lowest 12-month averages⁴ up to March 2009 were registered in Portugal (1.9%), Germany and the Netherlands (both 2.2%), and the highest in Latvia (13.4%), Lithuania (10.5%) and Bulgaria (10.1%).

Euro area

The main components with the highest annual rates in March 2009 were alcohol & tobacco (3.4%), "miscellaneous" (2.3%) and hotels & restaurants (2.2%), while the lowest annual rates were observed for transport (-4.3%), communications (-1.8%) and recreation & culture (0.0%). Concerning the detailed sub-indices, gas (+0.19 percentage points), restaurants & cafés (+0.17) and electricity (+0.13) had the largest upward impacts on the headline rate, while fuels for transport (-0.97) and heating oil (-0.35) had the biggest downward impacts.

The main components with the highest monthly rates were clothing (7.5%) and household equipment (0.5%), while the lowest were recreation & culture (-0.4%), housing and transport (both -0.3%). In particular, garments (+0.38 percentage points) and footwear (+0.07) had the largest upward impacts, while fuels for transport (-0.07) and heating oil (-0.05) had the biggest downward impacts.

Annual inflation (%) in March 2009 in ascending order

Euro area

EU Member States outside the euro area

Inflation rates in %, measured by HICPs

Source: Eurostat p = provisional : = data not available r = revised

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

The 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.

The 12-month average rate⁴ 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.

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

The 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 harmonized inflation figures required under Article 121 of the Treaty of Amsterdam (109j of the Treaty on European Union). They are designed for international comparison of consumer price inflation. The focus is on quality and comparability among the indices of different countries as well as on their relative movements.

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. The HICP is computed as an annual chain index 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/pls/portal/url/page/PGP_DS_HICP.

Future release dates

Scheduled publication dates for the coming months are:

• 1. 

  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 1 January 2001, Slovenia from 1 January 2007, Cyprus and Malta from 1 January 2008 and Slovakia from 1 January 2009. New Member States are integrated into the MUICP using a chain index formula.
• 2. 

  The MUICP flash estimate for March 2009, published on 31 March 2009, was 0.6%.
• 3. 

  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 30 April 2004, 25 Member States from 1 May 2004 until 31 December 2006 and 27 Member States from 1 January 2007. New Member States are integrated into the EICP using a chain index formula.
• 4. 

  Measure used to determine price stability in Convergence reports by the Commission to the Council.
• 5. 

  Data for the United Kingdom for March 2009 were not available in time for publication. Due to this fact, EU and EEA totals were calculated using Eurostat estimates.
• 6. 

  EU and EEA totals have been revised as February 2009 data for the United Kingdom were not available in time for the previous release.

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

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