The largest weighted negative contribution came from the sector Retail trade, mostly food and beverages, which decreased by 7.7 percent in fixed prices compared with February a year ago.

Restaurants, cafes, hotels and other accommodation services accounted for the largest weighted positive contribution to total consumption and increased by 10.4 percent in fixed prices compared with February a year ago. The comparison should take into account that Covid restrictions for restaurants were applied in the beginning of February 2022.

To consider

Under present circumstances with broad price increases on consumer goods, consumption patterns may change. Consumers may choose cheaper alternatives for goods that have become more expensive (so called substitution). This might lead to an underestimation of household consumption measured in fixed prices. This might mostly be a concern for the sector Retail trade, mostly food and beverages, but can also be a factor within other sectors.

The next statistical news in this series is scheduled for publication on 2023-05-10 at 08:00.