Ireland experienced a continued decline in consumer price inflation for the second consecutive month in September, reaching its lowest mark in three and a half years, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office on Thursday.
The consumer price index rose by 0.7% year-over-year in September, a deceleration from the 1.7% increase observed in August. This marks the weakest inflation rate recorded since March 2021, a point at which prices remained unchanged.
Regarding the EU-harmonised inflation metric, it remained steady in September compared to a 1.1% rise in the previous month. As noted in the preliminary report, the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) increased by 0.2%.
The most significant impact on the inflation slowdown came from a 7.5% annual decrease in clothing and footwear prices. Housing and utility costs also saw a reduction, being 2.6% less expensive. In contrast, restaurant and hotel prices experienced a 3.9% increase.
Excluding energy and unprocessed food, the core consumer price inflation rate stood at 2.4%.
On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices fell by 0.9% in September following a modest increase of 0.1% in August. The HICP showed a similar monthly decrease of 1.0%.