CONSUMER PRICES HAVE increased by 1.9 per cent in the year to the end of April, newly released figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) shows that prices remain unchanged in the month of April, compared to an increase of 0.4 per cent recorded in April of last year.

The most notable changes in the year were increases, according to the CPI, and were related to education (+9.4 per cent), transport (+5.7 per cent), miscellaneous goods and services (+4.1 per cent), and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+3.2 per cent).

Meanwhile, decreases were noted in categories such as furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (-2.3 per cent), recreation and culture (-1.1 per cent) and clothing and footwear (-0.4 per cent).

The most significant monthly price changes were in the areas of miscellaneous goods and services (+1.3 per cent) and food and non-alcoholic beverages (+0.5 per cent), while decreases in alcoholic beverages and tobacco (-0.9 per cent) and transport (-0.7 per cent) were noted.

The main factors contributing to the monthly change were identified as:

• Miscellaneous good and services rose due to the introduction of the household charge and an increase in health insurance premiums
• Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased due to higher prices for a wide range of food items
• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco decreased mainly due to lower price for wine sold in off licences and supermarkets
• Transport fell due to a decrease in airfares, which was partially offset by increases in petrol and diesel prices

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