Annual inflation rate falls to 4.7% in February

The annual rate of inflation fell to 4.7 per cent in February, down from 4

The annual rate of inflation fell to 4.7 per cent in February, down from 4.9 per cent in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index published today.

The cost of the basket of goods, which makes up the index, rose by 0.7 per cent in the month compared with an increase of 0.9 per cent in February of last year.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in health, up 10.5 per cent; miscellaneous goods and services up 9.4 per cent; and education, up 9.4 per cent.

The figures, which are prepared by the Central Statistics Office, also show the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which compares Irish inflation with the rest of the EU, stood at 4.7 per in February from 5.2 per cent in January.