12 January 2018

2018- n° 6

In December 2017, consumer prices rose by 0.3% over a month and by 1.2% year on year Consumer price index - final results - December 2017

In December 2017, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) gathered pace at +0.3% after +0.1% in November. This sharper rise came from a seasonal rebound in services prices and, in a lesser extent, from that of manufactured product prices. On the other hand, energy prices and tobacco prices slowed down and those of food were stable.

Seasonally adjusted, consumer prices hardly slowed down after a slight acceleration in the previous month: +0.1% after +0.2% in November.

Year on year, consumer prices rose by 1.2% in December, as in November. After four months of consecutive increase, the stability of inflation resulted from a slowdown in energy prices and food prices offset by a lower drop in manufactured product prices and a sharper growth in tobacco prices. Services prices increased by 1.0%, as in the three previous months.

In December 2017, the core inflation index (ISJ) was stable after an increase of 0.1% in November. Over a year, core inflation hardly accelerated at +0.6% after +0.5% in the five previous months. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) accelerated (+0.4% after +0.1%); year on year, it rose by 1.2% as in the previous month.

Energy prices slowed down in December 2017 after an acceleration in the previous month (+5.0% year on year after +5.4%). This lesser dynamism was due to those of the prices of petroleum products (+8.2% after +8.6%) and gas (+2.6% after +4.1% year on year). Electricity prices were up 1.5% year on year, as in the four previous months.

In December 2017, food prices rose by 1.3% year on year after +1.5% in November. Fresh product prices slowed down for the second consecutive month (+2.6% year on year after +4.5% in October and +3.6% in November): vegetable prices increased less sharply (+3.3% after +4.9%) while the prices of fresh fruits increased further (+6.7% after +6.4%). Excluding fresh products, food prices rose by 1.1% over a year, as in October and in November. The acceleration in oils and fats prices continued (+7.4% over one year after +6.7%).

Year on year, the decrease in manufactured products prices softened for the fourth consecutive month (−0.1% in December after −0.2%). This slighter drop came, as in the two previous months, from those in the prices of clothing and footwear (−0.1% year on year after −0.3%). In contrast, the prices of medical products declined more in December than in November (−1.8% after −1.6%). The prices of “other manufactured products” rose faster: +0.3% year on year after +0.1% in November. Over a month, their prices recovered by 0.1% after a downturn of 0.1% in November. The prices of games and hobbies were stable after −4.1% in the previous month and the prices in sport equipment dropped less than in November (−0.4% after −0.9%). On the other hand, the prices of furniture and furnishing edged down (−0.1%) after a slight rebound in the previous month.

Year on year, services prices rose by 1.0%, as in the three previous months. The prices of health services continued to rise (+2.2% after +1.9% year on year). Transport prices hardly gathered pace year on year (+1.1% after +1.0%): over the month they bounced back (+5.2% after −2.8%). In addition, the prices of telecommunications services fell less than in the previous month again (−4.0% year on year after −4.5%). On the other hand, the prices in accomodation services significantly slowed down (+2.0% after +4.0% year on year): over the month, prices rose less than in December 2016 (+0.8% against +2.7%), due to the shift of the Christmas holidays.

Compared with the provisional estimates published on 5 January 2017, the month-on-month and year-on-year changes in the CPI were confirmed. The month-on-month change in the HICP was down 0.1points, the year-on-year was confirmed.