Annual Inflation Down from 4.1% to 3.6%

According to Luxembourg's statistical institute, STATEC, the annual rate of inflation in the Grand Duchy has fallen from 4.1% to 3.6% over one month.

In January 2022, the national consumer price index (IPCN), calculated by STATEC, climbed 0.1% compared to the previous month. This development is mainly explained by rising fuel costs, which increased by 12.3% over one month. Prices excluding petroleum products fell by 0.6%.

Petroleum products

After falling in December 2021, the prices of petroleum products increased by 12.3% in one month. This is explained, on the one hand, by the rise of Brent and gas on the international markets, and on the other hand, by the increase in the additional autonomous excise duty called "Tax CO2" from January 2022.

The cost of heating oil (mazout) rose by 3.0% over one month, whilst that of town gas (coal gas) increased by 22.9%. At the pump, motorists paid 4.9% more for a litre of diesel and 4.7% more for a litre of petrol compared to the month before. Over one year, the price of petroleum products increased by 60.0%. Compared to the same month of the previous year, the prices of petroleum products rose by 48.7%, while the prices of heating oil rose by 80.4%.

Electricity

In January, certain elements of electricity pricing were adapted, resulting in an average drop of 3.2% in the prices paid by consumers. A rise in the price of energy accompanied by a reduction in the contribution to the compensation mechanism and an adjustment of the tax for the use of the network resulted in a final decrease.

Other products and services

Due to the winter sales in January, the prices of clothing and footwear were down 13.3% compared to December 2021. Items relating to furniture, household appliances, personal and household equipment were also affected by the sales, but to a lesser extent.

Food prices increased by 0.9% over one month. The most significant increases were recorded for fresh fish (up 5.9%), bread (up 1.4%), meat (up 1.4%) and cheese (up 1.1%), whilst price drops were recorded for pasta and couscous (down 2.0%), fresh fruit (down 0.8%) and fresh vegetables (down 0.6%). Over one year, food prices were 2.9% higher.

Regarding services, the cost of financial services rose by 8.8%, whilst dental service prices increased by 5.5% over one month. Domestic services also noted a 2.5% price increase. Package holiday prices fell by 12.0%, whilst flight prices rose by 22.1% compared to December.

The annual inflation rate stood at 3.6% in January 2022, down from 4.1% the month before. The general index for the month of January expressed in base 100 in 2015 was 111.22 points.