15 January 2020

2020- n° 5

In December 2019, consumer prices rose by 0.4% over one month and by 1.5% year on year Consumer price index - final results - December 2019

In December 2019, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) accelerated to +0.4% over a month, after +0.1% in November. This rise resulted from higher prices in energy (+0.8% after +0.3%) and food (+0.6% after +0.1%) and a rebound in the prices of services (+0.5% after −0.2%) and manufactured products (+0.2% after −0.1%). Tobacco prices were stable after a 6.0% rise in the previous month.

Seasonally adjusted, consumer prices rose by 0.3% in December, after +0.2% in November.

Year on year, consumer prices gathered pace for the second consecutive month: +1.5% after +1.0% in November and +0.8% in October. This rise in inflation came from a sharp rebound in energy prices, a slight acceleration in those of services and a lesser drop in those of manufactured products. Food and tobacco prices rose at the same pace as in the previous month.

Year on year, core inflation barely increased in December: +1.1% after +1.0% in the previous month. The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) rose by 0.5% over a month, after +0.1% in November; year on year, it accelerated to +1.6%, after +1.2% in the previous month.

Year on year, energy prices rebounded in December, after two months of drop: +2.6% after −0.6% in November and −1.6% in October. This rise came from that in the prices of petroleum products (+3.4% year on year after −1.9%): over a month, they increased by 1.4% after a stability in November. Moreover, gas prices fell less than in the previous month (−8.1% year on year after −10.2%).

Year on year, services prices were a little more dynamic than in November: +1.4% after +1.3%. The prices of transport services gathered pace, as in the previous month (+2.6% year on year after +2,1%): those of passenger transport by road became higher (+4.9% after +4.0%) whereas airfares rose by 2.7%, as in the previous month. Heath services rose by 0.6% year on year after a stability in the previous month. Contrariwise, those of communication services slowed down (+2.1% after +2.3%). Finally the prices of housing-related services (+0.8%) and those of “other services” (+1.6%) increased at the same pace as in the previous month.

Year on year, manufactured product prices fell less sharply in December than in November: −0.3% after −0.6%. This attenuated drop came from a rebound in the prices of “other manufactured products” (+0.2% year on year after −0.2%): car prices sharply accelerated (+1.2% after +0.3%) and those in furniture rebounded (+0.6% year on year after −0.1%). The lesser drop in health product prices contributed too (−1.9% after −3.0%). Finally, clothing and footwear prices dropped barely more than in the previous month (−0.3% after −0.2%).

In December 2019, food prices rose by 2.1% year on year, as in November. Those of fresh products were a little less dynamic than in the previous month (+2.1% year on year after +2.3%). The slowdown in the prices of fresh vegetables (+1.9% year on year after +2.2%) and in those of fresh fish (+3.2% after +3.4%) was attenuated by the acceleration in fresh fruits prices (+1.7% after +1.4%). Excluding fresh products, food prices rose at a pace near to that in the previous month (+2.1% year on year after +2.0%).

Compared with the provisional estimates published on January 3, 2019, the month-on-month change in the CPI was unchanged and the year-on-year change was up by 0.1 points. The month-on-month and year-on-year changes in the HICP were confirmed.