The composition of the consumption basket changes each year. Obsolete goods and services are removed, and new ones emerge. From January, all goods and services also get a new updated weight in the basket. The ‘basket effect’ is the combined effect of the change in the composition of the consumption basket and new weights. In January 2018, the basket effect contributed -0.2 percentage point to the monthly change in the CPI, which is close to the historical average.

Methodological changes are also introduced in January. For more information on changes in the CPI in 2018, see link under ‘Changes in 2018’.

Price decreases in clothing and footwear (-11.9 percent) contributed downwards by 0.7 percentage point, while price decreases on international flights (-23.7 percent) contributed downwards by 0.2 percentage point to the change from December 2017 to January 2018. In addition, price decreases in passenger transport by railway (-14.0 percent) and package holidays (-9.4 percent) contributed downwards by 0.1 percentage point each.

This decrease was offset by higher prices on housing (1.0 percent), which contributed 0.2 percentage point upwards.

The CPI for January 2018 was 322.51 (1980=100).

The inflation rate according to the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) was 1.6 percent in January 2018, down from 1.7 percent in December 2017. The HICP decreased by 0.9 percent from December to January. In the corresponding period last year, the HICP fell by 0.8 percent.

Changes in 2018

Some adjustments will be introduced in the calculation of the Consumer Price Index and the related measures as from the publication for January 2018.
For further information, please see:

Adjustments to the CPI and related measures from 2018 (pdf)

2018-03-14 at 09:30.