Inflation remained anchored at a three-year low of 0.7 per cent in October, unchanged from the previous month, as expectations of further European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate cuts grow.
The latest consumer price index (CPI), the State’s official measure of inflation, suggested that while prices are still rising, the rate of growth is being held back by a combination of falling energy prices and statistical base effects (the comparison with the same month last year).
The Central Statistics Office data indicate household electricity prices have fallen 16.2 per cent in the 12 months to the end of October while natural gas prices were down almost 19 per cent.
Within the transport category, petrol and diesel prices were down 8 and 12 per cent respectively.
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Core or underlying inflation, which strips out potentially volatile food and energy prices, was 2.3 per cent in October, down from 2.4 per cent previously.
Price growth, however, remained elevated in the restaurants and hotels sector with prices on average rising by 3.7 per cent in the year to October. Alcohol and tobacco prices also registered a large annual increase, rising by 4.9 per cent against the same period last year.