STAT/06/164 15 December 2006
November 2006 Euro area annual inflation up to 1.9% EU25 up to 2.1%
Euro area annual inflation was 1.9% in November 20061, up from 1.6% in October. A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. Monthly inflation was 0.0% in November 2006. EU25 annual inflation was 2.1% in November 2006, up from 1.8% in October. A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. Monthly inflation was 0.1% in November 2006. EICP2 annual inflation was 2.1% in November 2006.
These figures come from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities.
Inflation in the Member States
In November 2006, the lowest annual rates were observed in Malta (0.9%), the Czech Republic (1.0%), Cyprus, Poland and Finland (1.3% each), and the highest rates in Hungary (6.4%), Latvia (6.3%) and Estonia (4.7%). Compared with October 2006, annual inflation rose in twenty-two Member States and fell in two.
The lowest 12-month averages3 up to November 2006 were in Poland (1.2%), Finland (1.3%) and Sweden (1.5%); the highest were in Latvia (6.6%) and Estonia and Slovakia (4.3% each).
Euro area
The main components with the highest annual rates in November 2006 were housing (3.6%), education (3.5%) and food (3.1%), while the lowest annual rates were observed for communications (-2.7%), recreation and culture (-0.1%) and transport (0.8%). Concerning the detailed sub-indices, gas (+0.14 percentage points) had the largest upward impact on the headline rate, followed by vegetables (+0.10), while fuels for transport (-0.18) and telecommunications (-0.14) had the biggest downward impacts.
The main components with the highest monthly rates were clothing (0.5%) and food (0.4%), and the lowest were recreation and culture (-0.7%) and communications (-0.4%). In particular, vegetables and garments (both +0.03 percentage points) had the largest upward impact, while package holidays (-0.07) had the biggest downward impact, followed by accommodation services, heating oil and fuels for transport (-0.03 each).
Annual inflation (%) in November 2006 in ascending order
Euro area Member States
FI DE FR NL AT LU Euro area BE IT4 IE PT5 ES EL 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.6p 1.6p 1.8 1.9p 2.0 2.0 2.4 Oct 06 2.6 2.7 3.2 EU Member States outside the euro area
MT CZ CY PL SE DK EU25 SI UK SK LT EE LV HU 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.8 2.1p 2.4 2.7 3.7 4.4 4.7 6.3 6.4 Inflation rates in %, measured by HICPs
Annual rates 12 Month average rates3 Monthly rates Nov 06 Nov 05 Oct 06 Oct 05 Sep 06 Sep 05 Aug 06 Aug 05 Nov 05 Nov 04 Nov 06-05 Nov 05-04 Nov 06 Oct 06 Belgium (BE) 2.0 1.7 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.4 0.2 Germany (DE) 1.5 1.1 1.0 1.8 2.2 1.8 -0.1 Greece (EL) 3.2 3.1 3.1 3.4 3.4 3.3 -0.2 Spain (ES) 2.7 2.6 2.9 3.8 3.4 3.6 0.2 France (FR) 1.6 1.2 1.5 2.1 1.8 1.9 0.1 Ireland (IE) 2.4 2.2 2.2 3.2 2.2 2.6 0.0 Italy (IT)4 2.0 1.9 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.2 0.1 Luxembourg (LU) 1.8 0.6 2.0 3.1 3.6 3.1 0.1 Netherlands (NL) 1.6p 1.3 1.5 1.9 1.6 1.7p 0.0p Austria (AT) 1.6p 1.3r 1.3 2.1 1.7 1.7p 0.1p Portugal (PT)5 : 2.6 3.0 2.7 2.5 3.0 0.0 Finland (FI) 1.3 0.9 0.8 1.3 1.0 1.3 0.0 Euro area (MUICP) 1.9p 1.6 1.7 2.3 2.3 2.2p 0.0p Czech Republic (CZ) 1.0 0.8 2.2 2.6 2.2 2.1 -0.2 Denmark (DK) 1.8 1.4 1.5 1.9 1.8 1.9 0.0 Estonia (EE) 4.7 3.8 3.8 5.0 4.0 4.3 0.8 Cyprus (CY) 1.3 1.7 2.2 2.7 2.0 2.2 -0.1 Latvia (LV) 6.3 5.6 5.9 6.8 7.6 6.6 1.0 Lithuania (LT) 4.4 3.7 3.3 4.3 2.9 3.7 0.8 Hungary (HU) 6.4 6.3 5.9 4.7 3.3 3.8 0.2 Malta (MT) 0.9 1.7 3.1 3.0 4.3 2.8 -3.4 Poland (PL) 1.3 1.1 1.4 1.7 1.1 1.2 0.0 Slovenia (SI) 2.4 1.5 2.5 3.1 2.1 2.5 0.3 Slovakia (SK) 3.7 3.1 4.5 5.0 3.6 4.3 0.5 Sweden (SE) 1.5 1.2 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.5 0.0 United Kingdom (UK) 2.7 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.1 2.2 0.3 EU25 2.1p 1.8 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.2p 0.1p EICP2 2.1p 1.8 1.9 2.3 2.3 2.2p 0.1p EU15 2.0p 1.7 1.8 2.3 2.3 2.2p 0.1p Iceland 6.1 5.8 6.1 7.1 1.1 4.2 -0.1 Norway 2.8 3.0 3.0 2.1 1.8 2.5 -0.2 EEA (EEAICP) 2.1p 1.8 1.9 2.3 2.2 2.2p 0.1p Bulgaria (BG) 6.1 5.7 5.6 6.8 6.5 7.3 1.4 Romania (RO) 4.7 4.8 5.5 6.1 8.2 6.9 1.1 Source: Eurostat p = provisionalr = revised: = not available
Note: No November data for annual inflation in the USA were available in time for publication.
Euro area inflation rates in % for main components, measured by HICPs
Weight used in 2006 Annual rates 12 month average rates3 Monthly rates Euro area (MUICP) Nov 06 Nov 05 Oct 06 Oct 05 Sep 06 Sep 05 Aug 06 Aug 05 Nov 05 Nov 04 Nov 06-05 Nov 05-04 Nov 06 Oct 06 00 All-items 1000.0 1.9p 1.6 1.7 2.3 2.3 2.2p 0.0p 01 Food 152.7 3.1p 3.0 3.3 2.9 1.1 2.2p 0.4p 02 Alcohol and tobacco 40.0 3.0p 2.9 1.6 2.8 5.7 2.7p 0.1p 03 Clothing 72.7 0.9p 1.0 0.9 0.1 0.3 0.4p 0.5p 04 Housing 153.5 3.6p 3.6 4.0 4.8 5.0 4.8p -0.1p 05 Household equipment 75.7 1.1p 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.9p 0.3p 06 Health 40.3 1.7p 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.4p 0.2p 07 Transport 157.1 0.8p -0.7 0.2 3.5 4.2 3.4p -0.1p 08 Communications 29.4 -2.7p -2.6 -3.2 -3.9 -2.6 -3.2p -0.4p 09 Recreation and culture 94.7 -0.1p 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.1p -0.7p 10 Education 9.7 3.5p 3.4 3.5 2.7 2.3 2.8p 0.2p 11 Hotels and restaurants 92.3 2.8p 2.6 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.5p -0.1p 12 Miscellaneous 81.8 2.3p 2.3 2.3 2.2 1.9 2.1p 0.2p All-items excl. energy 908.0 1.8p 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.5 1.6p 0.1p -excl. energy, FoodAlcTob* 715.3 1.5p 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.4p 0.0p -excl. energy, unproc. food 833.7 1.6p 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5p 0.0p -excl. energy, seas. food 870.6 1.7p 1.7 1.6 1.5 1.5 1.5p 0.0p -excl. tobacco 974.9 1.8p 1.5 1.7 2.2 2.1 2.2p 0.0p Energy 92.0 2.1p -0.5 1.5 8.1 10.0 8.4p -0.5p FoodAlcTob* 192.8 3.0p 3.0 2.9 2.9 2.2 2.3p 0.3p Source: Eurostat * FoodAlcTob = Food, alcohol and tobaccop = provisional
Euro area sub-indices with most important impacts
Weight (‰) 2006 Rate (%) Impact (percentage points) COICOP November 06 / November 05 04.52 Gas 15.0 10.8p 0.14 01.17 Vegetables 14.6 8.7p 0.10 11.11 Restaurants and cafés 68.4 2.9p 0.07 04.51 Electricity 20.5 4.9p 0.06 01.12 Meat 36.9 3.4p 0.06 12.31 Jewellery and watches 5.4 12.2p 0.06 04.53 Heating oil 8.8 -3.0p -0.04 09.11 Audio-visual equipment 5.2 -8.8p -0.06 09.13 IT equipment 4.0 -12.3p -0.06 03.12 Garments 53.5 0.8p -0.06 08.2/3 Telecommunications 27.5 -3.1p -0.14 07.22 Fuels for transport 41.7 -2.2p -0.18 November 06 / October 06 01.17 Vegetables 14.6 2.1p 0.03 03.12 Garments 53.5 0.5p 0.03 11.11 Restaurants and cafés 68.4 0.2p 0.01 05.11 Furniture 25.9 0.5p 0.01 09.33 Gardens, plants and flowers 6.2 1.8p 0.01 07.11 Cars 45.1 0.2p 0.01 08.2/3 Telecommunications 27.5 -0.4p -0.01 07.33 Air transport 5.2 -2.3p -0.01 11.20 Accommodation services 16.2 -1.6p -0.03 04.53 Heating oil 8.8 -3.2p -0.03 07.22 Fuels for transport 41.7 -0.7p -0.03 09.60 Package holidays 14.1 -5.6p -0.07 Source: Eurostatp= 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 rate3 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 (EICP2) 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 euro area total. 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 Statistics in focus, Economy and Finance, Harmonized indices of consumer prices. About 100 MUICP, EICP, EEAICP and HICP sub-indices with corresponding weights are available in Eurostat’s database.
For technical notes on HICPs see: Eurostat News Release 21/97, 5 March 1997, Harmonizing the way EU measures inflation and Eurostat Memo 8/98, 4 May 1998, New monetary union index of consumer prices (MUICP), Eurostat Memo 02/00, 18 February 2000, Improved EU Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices: Extended coverage and earlier release dates for the HICP, and HICP short guide for users. Further details can be found in the Compendium of HICP reference documents - (2/2001/B/5).
Future release dates
Provisional publication dates for the coming months are:
Index for MUICP flash estimates HICP News Releases December 2006 4 January 2007 17 January 2007 January 2007 31 January 2007 28 February 2007 February 2007 1 March 2007 15 March 2007 The MUICP flash estimate for November 2006, published on 30 November 2006, was 1.8%. The EICP (EICP=’European Index of Consumer Prices’ as defined in Council Regulation (EC) No 2494/95 of 23 October 1995) is the official EU aggregate. It covers 15 Member States until April 2004 and 25 Member States starting from May 2004. The ten new Member States are integrated into the EICP starting from May 2004 using a chain index formula. Measure used to determine price stability in Convergence reports of 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 by the Commission to the Council. In October 2006, Italy changed its price collection period. Collection is now taking place between the 1st and the 21st of the reference month. Until September 2006 the collection period was between the 16th of the previous month and the 15th of the reference month. Figures from October 2006 onwards may be subject to revision. November 2006 data for Portugal were under embargo at the time of publication. However, Portuguese data were used to compute euro area, EU and EEA totals. For further information, see the HICP section on the Eurostat website: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/pls/portal/url/page/PGP_DS_HICP The HICP Short Guide for Users, which provides essential information for all users, is available on the Eurostat website.
Issued by: Eurostat Press Office Tim ALLEN BECH Building L-2920 LUXEMBOURG Tel: +352-4301-33 444 Fax: +352-4301-35 349 eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.eu For further information on Methodology: Christine WIRTZ Tel: +352-4301-38 137 Fax: +352-4301-33 989 estat-hicp-methods@ec.europa.eu Eurostat News Releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ 
