Credit: Statec
The annual rate of inflation in Luxembourg has fallen from 0.9% to 0.6% over the past month.
In August 2020, the national consumer price index, calculated by STATEC, increased by 0.8% compared to the previous month. This decrease has been mainly attributed to the end of the summer sales. By offsetting balancing changes and excluding petroleum products, prices for other goods and services increased 0.2%.
As a result of the summer sales, the price of clothes and shoes went up 12.9% compared to the previous month. In comparison with August 2019, clothing prices increased by 0.9% whilst the cost of shoes rose by 0.7%.
Following a rebound in July, petroleum prices fell by 1.%% last month. This decline is explained mainly by a fall in town gas, which was down 4.6% over one month. Heating oil prices also fell by 0.7%. At the pump, motorists spent 0.4% more per litre of diesel compared to July, although petrol prices remained stable.
Food prices stagnated, with decreases recorded particularly for fresh fish (down 3.8%) and fresh vegetables (down 1.7%). On the other hand, prices rose for fresh fruit (up 1.9%) and hot beverages (coffee, tea and hot chocolate; up 1.3%) compared to July. In comparison to last year, food prices were up 2.3%.
The peak season saw package holiday prices increase by 3.3% and air passenger travel by 13.6% over one month. Compared to August 2019, aeroplane tickets were down 9.4%.
All things considered, the annual rate of inflation now stands at 0.6%. The general index for the month of August expressed in base 100 in 2015 amounted to 106.69 points.
