11 December 2014

2014- n° 282

Consumer prices decreased in November 2014 by 0.2%; they rose by 0.3% year-on-year Consumer price index - final results - November 2014

In November 2014, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) decreased by 0.2% after it stayed steady during the previous month. Seasonally adjusted, it went down by 0.1% in November 2014. Year-on-year, the CPI grew by 0.3%, down from 0.5% in October 2014. Excluding tobacco, the CPI increased also by 0.3%, year-on-year.

In addition to a seasonal decrease in prices of some services, the decline in the CPI in November 2014 came mainly from a sharp drop in prices of manufactured product as well as a new reduction in energy prices, notably for those of petroleum products. Moreover, if food prices remained broadly stable in November 2014, those of unprocessed fresh foodstuffs declined again.

In November 2014, prices of manufactured products decreased by 0.3% (after —0.2% in October; —1.2% year-on-year), mainly, due to promotions or discounts. Overall, prices of new cars fell by 2.5% in November 2014 (+0.1% year-on-year), those of audiovisual, photographic and information processing equipment by 0.8% (—7.3% year-on-year). Moreover, prices of some products decreased seasonally: those of household appliances (—0.3%; —2.5% year-on-year) as well as those of games and toys (—2.2%; —1.6% year-on-year). Furthermore, prices of medical products went down sharply in November (—0.5%; —3.0%) after the revision of the flat-rate tarifs applicable to reimbursed medicinal products. On the other hand, as every year, prices of plants and flowers increased in November (+8.4%; —0.6% year-on-year). Finally, clothing and footwear prices stabilized in November 2014 (+0.2% year-on-year).

Energy prices diminished by 0.6% in November 2014 (after —0.4% in October 2014; —1.1% year-on-year). This new decline came only from a drop in prices of petroleum products (—2.7% after —1.7% in October and —0.3% in September; —5.1% year-on-year). Thus, the prices of motor fuels went down by 2.7% in November (—4.6% year-on-year) and those of heating fuels by 3.5% (—9.3% year-on-year). On the contrary, prices of town gas

increased again in November (+2.2% after +4.0% in October; +1.8% year-on-year) while electricity tarifs were upwardly revalued by 2.0% in November (+4.8% year-on-year).

In November 2014, service prices declined slightly (—0.1%; as in November 2013; +1.5% year-on-year) mainly due to the seasonal decrease of the prices airfares (—5.5%; +1,9% year-on-year). The prices of other services related to tourism also went down in November 2014, in particular those of package holidays (—4.5%; +0.5% year-on-year), prices of restaurant and hotel services (—0.2%, after —0.4% in October; +2.4% year-on-year) as well as rents of vacation residences (—0.3%; +0.9% year-on-year). On the contrary, telecommunication tariffs increased by 0.5% in November 2014 (—3.4% year-on-year).

Food prices remained broadly stable in November 2014 but they declined by 0.2% compared with the same month one year ago (—0.1% year-on-year in October 2014). Following two straight months of clear increases (+3.6% in October and +4.9% in September), prices of unprocessed fresh foodstuffs declined slightly in November (—0.5%; +0.9% year-on-year). Seasonally, prices of fresh fruits dropped by 1.9% (+0.3% year-on-year) while those of fresh vegetables remained sluggish (+0.2%; +0.3% year-on-year). On the opposite, prices of fresh fish and seafood increased by 1.5% in November (+3.6% year-on-year). Excluding unprocessed fresh products, food prices were up slightly (+0.1%) in November but stayed in decline, for the fourth month in a row (—0.4% year-on-year).

In November 2014, the core inflation indicator (ISJ) declined by 0.1% compared with October 2014 and by 0.2% compared with November 2013. It is the first time that the core inflation is negative since this indicator has been measured (computed from 1990). The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) was down 0.2% between October and November 2014; its annual rate of change stood at +0.4%, slightly down from +0.5% in October.