In May 2024, the national consumer price index, calculated by STATEC, rose by 0.3% compared to the previous month. While this may seem like a modest increase, it masks significant disparities across various sectors.
Airline ticket prices surged by 19.0% in May compared to April, and prices for package holidays increased by 9.0%.
Childcare costs also saw a sharp rise, with prices for crèches and children’s day-care centres up by 8.6% from the previous month.
Multi-service telecom offers also contributed to inflation, increasing by 8.0% in May.
Food prices experienced a slight uptick of 0.3% compared to April. The most notable price hikes were observed in fresh seafood (+5.3%), olive oil (+3.7%), and flour (+3.4%). Conversely, prices for crisps (-3.3%) and fresh fish (-2.7%) decreased compared to April.
Beverage prices also saw reductions: mineral water fell by 2.5% and soft drinks by 1.6% compared to the previous month. Year-on-year, food prices are 2.1% higher and soft drinks 3.7%.
Other significant price increases affecting inflation included plants and flowers (+2.7%), hotels, motels, and inns (+1.5%), as well as tobacco (+1.2%).
Moving on to fuel prices, motorists paid 5.0% less for diesel in May, and petrol prices fell by 3.1% within a month. The cost of heating oil dropped by 8.6%. Despite these reductions, prices of petroleum derivatives in the index basket are 4.2% higher than in May 2023.
The annual inflation rate now stands at 2.6%, up from 2.4% the previous month. The general index for May, expressed on the basis of 100 points in 2015, is 123.18 points.
When calculating the sliding wage scale, the law requires the neutralisation of increases in taxes and excise duties on tobacco products.
Starting from May 2024, this measure will result in a new link coefficient (8.22260) that connects the consumer price index base 100 in 2015 to the base 100 index as of 1 January 1948.
The half-yearly average of the index linked to the 1 January 1948 base rises from 1002.11 to 1004.46 points. The next wage indexation will be triggered when this value reaches 1013.46 points.
In May, STATEC forecasted that the next wage indexation would be triggered in the last quarter of 2024, with a second one expected in 2025.
