15 May 2013

2013- n° 109

The Consumer Prices Index decreased by 0.1% in April 2013; it rose by 0.7% year-on-year Consumer price index - final results - April 2013

In April 2013, the Consumer Price index (CPI) declined by 0.1%, after a rise by 0.8% in March. Year on year, it was up 0.7% in April (+1.0% in March 2013). Excluding tobacco, the CPI went down by 0.2% in April (+0.6% year on year). Seasonally adjusted, the decrease of the CPI is more pronounced (—0.3% in April; +0.7% year on year).

In April 2013, food product prices and those of tobacco rose. In the wake of the decline in the prices of petroleum products, the energy prices fell significantly in April. The services prices were pushed down by lower telecommunication rates and by a decrease in prices of some services related to tourism due to the particular calendar of the school holidays this year. The prices of manufactured goods were pulled downward by the reduction in the prices of health products and by those, more regular, in electronic products.

The food prices grew by 0.3% in April (after +0.5% in March) and by 1.7% year on year. The bad weather conditions at the beginning of the year weighed on production of fresh foodstuffs and fired upward their prices (+2.2% in April, + 6.3% year on year). Those of fresh vegetables increased by 4.0% in April (+5.2% year on year) while those of fresh fruit fell slightly (—0.2% in April) but remained dynamic year on year (+8.4%). Moreover, prices of fresh fishes and shellfishes were also up sharply in April (+ 3,3% over one month and + 3.4% year on year). Excluding fresh products, food prices remained broadly stable in April (+1.1% year on year), with however contrasted developments according to the products. The meat prices (+0.1% in April, + 3.1% year on year) and those of the alcoholic beverages (+0.1% in April and + 3.3% year on year) remained dynamic. On the contrary, the prices of milk, cheese and eggs were still biased downward in April (—0.3%; —1.4 over a year).

In April 2013, the energy prices decreased by 1.1% and by 0.2% year on year. This decrease came mainly from a new fall in the prices of petroleum products (—1.7% in April; —3.8% year on year) affecting both heating fuels (—2.5% in April; —3.8% year on year) and motor fuels (—1.6% in April; —4.3% year on year). Moreover, city gas prices went down for the third consecutive month in April (—0.6%; +5.1% year on year). Stable in April, the electricity prices still rose sharply year on year (+5.9%).

Due to a particular calendar of the school holidays this year, the increase in prices of certain services related to tourism were lower in April 2013 than in 2012 (+1.8% between March and April; —2.7% year on year for air fares; +1.0% between March and April and —2.5% year on year for the rents of the holiday homes). Some of them declined compared with March 2013 (—6.9% over a month and +0.4% year on year for hotels, cafes and restaurants; —8.3% over a month and +1.0% year on year for the package travels). The prices of other services were also little dynamic in April, with still a downward pressure for the prices of telecommunication services (—1.9% between March and April; —16.3% year on year) and a downturn in actual rentals for housing (+1.6% year on year after +1.9% in March).

In April 2013, the prices of manufactured product went down slightly (—0.1% between March and April; —0.2% year on year) due to the decline in the prices of health products (—1.2% in April; —4.1% year on year), especially of generic drugs in the context of the 2013 saving measures of the national health insurance expenditure target (ONDAM). This decline is partly dampened by the rebound in prices of clothing (+0.7% in April; +0.9% year on year), in particular of footwear (+1.8% in April; +2.6% year on year) with the release of the summer collections. Furthermore, the prices of the other manufactured products were stable (+ 0.4% over one year). The dip in the prices of the audio-visual, photographic and information processing equipment (—0.5%; — 7.0% year on year), of the telephone and telefax equipment (—1.0%; —10.6% year on year) and of the household appliances (—0.3%; —2.1% year on year) continued in April. Moreover, there were some promotions on some products in April. In particular, the prices of the bedroom furniture decreased by 0.8% (—1.0% year on year) and those of jewels, clocks and watches by 0.2% (+3.3% year on year).

The core inflation indicator (ISJ) decreased by 0.3% in April 2013 (+0.4% year on year). The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) was down 0.1% (+0.8% year on year).