Annual harmonized inflation again moderated growth dynamics in July, reaching a value 10.3%

Following the European harmonized methodology, consumer prices in July 2023 rose by 10.3% annually, in June 2023 this value was 11.3%. The month-on-month HICP inflation reached negative value of -0.2% in July.

The average annual rate of HICP inflation (comparing change in the average price level for the average of the harmonized consumer price indices for the last 12 months compared to the average of the previous 12 months) reached in July 2023 the value 13.7%, in June 2023 it was 13.9%. The average annual HICP inflation rate is an important indicator of a country’s price stability, its level is also considered as one of the four so-called Maastricht criteria that an EU Member State must meet before adopting the euro.

In July 2023, the harmonized consumer price indices decreased by 0.2% month-on-month in total. The month-on-month decrease in the price level was most affected by the decrease in prices in the Recreation and culture division (the total negative contribution of -0.23 percentage points to month-on-month inflation was most affected by the by cancelling concessionaire fees for radio and television). The second most significant influence on the drop in prices in July compared to the price level in June had the Food and non-alcoholic beverages division (-0.18 p.p.). On the contrary, the highest positive contributions to month-on-month inflation were recorded in the Alcoholic beverages and tobacco division (the positive contribution of the entire division amounted to +0.09 p.p. - mainly caused by the increase of alcoholic beverages prices) and in the Transport division (+0.08 p.p. – mainly caused by the increase of fuel prices and of prices of urban and suburban passenger transport).

The final summary of harmonized inflation for July 2023 within Europe will be published on August 18, 2023 from 11 a.m. on the Eurostat website (PDF – 223 kB).