Austria: Harmonized inflation falls to lowest level in over three years in August
Latest reading: Harmonized inflation eased to 2.4% in August from July’s 2.9%. August’s result marked the weakest inflation rate since April 2021 but outpaced the Euro area average of 2.2%. Looking at the details of the release, plummeting price growth for transport plus housing and utilities outweighed a faster increase in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with annual average harmonized inflation coming in at 4.0% in August (July: 4.4%). Meanwhile, consumer price inflation fell to 2.3% in August from the previous month’s 2.9%.
Lastly, harmonized consumer prices dropped 0.13% from the previous month in August, a smaller decrease than July’s 0.36% drop.
Panelist insight: Erste Group’s Maximilian Möstl commented:
“We expect inflation to continue its downward trend in 2024, as inflationary pressure is easing in almost all sectors. However, inflation in the services sector, supported by wage increases, is likely to keep core inflation at a high level for a while yet. For 2024 as a whole, we expect HICP inflation of around 3.4%.”