Irish inflation drops to 0.7% in September amid steep reduction in energy prices

Headline inflation in the Irish economy dropped to 0.7 per cent in September, its lowest level in more than three years, as the cost of energy on international markets continued to fall.
Last month was the first since March 2021 in which the consumer price index (CPI), the State’s official measure of inflation, has been below 1 per cent on annual basis.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicate that household electricity prices have fallen by 19.6 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September while gas prices, including natural gas for the purposes of home heating and energy, have fallen by 19.1 per cent over the same period.
Meanwhile, core inflation, which strips out typically volatile food and energy prices, slipped to 2.4 per cent on an annual basis from 2.9 per cent in August.
At the end of last month, the CSO said headline inflation in the Irish economy fell to a three-year low of just 0.2 per cent in September. That was according to the latest flash estimate for the EU’s harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), which looks at a different basket of data.
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That figure was down from 1.1 per cent the previous month and below the euro area average of 2.2 per cent. The CSO noted the 0.2 per cent rate of price growth was the lowest level of HICP inflation recorded since March 2021.
More to follow …