New goods for ginflation rate
Index items updated with popular tipple and vapes
INFLATION will now be calculated based on items such as vapes, gin and smart watches.
The CSO uses a representative “shopping basket” to measure the Consumer Price Index and has updated it for the first time in eight years.
There are now 612 items included, with gin making a re-appearance after its removal in 2001.
January marked the third consecutive month where the inflation rate was lower than 5%, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show.
The annual rate slowed from
4.6% in December to 4.1% in January.
The “basket of goods” the
CSO uses to calculate the country’s inflation rate reflects what the Irish public is spending its money on.
New items added include disposable e-cigarettes, smart watches, gin and air fryers while items removed include landline telephones, Swiss roll, nightclub admissions and digital cameras.
CSO statistician Anthony Dawson said: “This is only the third time since September 2021 that the annual growth in the CPI was below 5%, while also being the third consecutive month where the inflation rate was lower than 5%.”
The figures show the most significant price growth in the 12 months to January were in Recreation & Culture costs, with prices there rising by 9.3%, while Restaurants & Hotels prices increased by 7.2%.
The CSO noted a 41.8% annual jump in the cost of package holidays.
Clothing and footwear was the only division to show a decrease, with prices down 1.3%, compared with January of last year.
Meanwhile, the national average price for a white sliced pan was down three cents in the year to January 2024.
The cost of a take-home 50cl can of lager at €2.34 was up 15 cents on average from January 2023.
And the price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €5.62, up 41 cents in the year.