THE COST OF alcohol, education and eating in restaurants has pushed the annual rate of inflation to 0.2 per cent.
Statistics from the CSO, published today, show that consumer prices, on average, were 0.2 per cent higher in August than they were in the same month of 2012.
The most notable changes pushing up the rate were in the Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (5.4 per cent), Education (4.8 per cent) and Restaurants and Hotels (1.6 per cent) categories.
The jump in the price of alcohol was mostly due to higher prices in off-licences and supermarkets, while the rise in the Restaurant and Hotels category was also put down to higher alcohol prices.
At the same time – and offsetting the increases – there were decreases seen in Clothing and Footwear (-5.1 per cent), Furnishings, Household Equipment and Regular Household Maintenance (-4 per cent) and Transport (-3.3 per cent).
In the month, consumer prices increased by 0.1 per cent with the most significant jumps noted in the price of clothing and footwear due to a recovery following the traditional summer sales.
It is the lowest rate of inflation in three years.
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