Compared to November, consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent in December, but inflation slowed down. “Both the electricity price brake and the sharp drop in fuel price pressure contributed to the decline,” said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas on Monday.
“In the case of food and gastronomy, however, the upward trend in prices was still unbroken at the end of the year.” According to Statistics Austria, inflation would have been 10.8 percent in December without the electricity price brake.
Highest value since 1974
For the year as a whole, the inflation rate more than tripled compared to 2021, reaching its highest level since the first oil price crisis in 1974. “The main reason was price developments for household energy, fuel, food and catering,” said Thomas.
The average price level of the mini-shopping basket rose by 14.5 percent in the previous year, after an above-average increase of 5.7 percent in 2021. The mini-shopping basket comprises a typical weekly purchase of short-term consumption goods and services and fuel.
Eating and drinking 10.7 percent more expensive
Consumers had to pay 10.7 percent more for food and non-alcoholic beverages year-on-year. The prices for oils and fats rose by 22.6 percent, consumers had to spend 11.8 percent more on meat and sausage products, and 10.9 percent more on bread and cereal products.
Statistics Austria recorded a price increase of 13.7 percent for milk, cheese and eggs and 13.9 percent for coffee. Thanks to a good harvest, the price increase for fruit was limited at 4.2 percent. Seasonal goods, i.e. fruit, vegetables and fish, on the other hand, rose by 8.7 percent.
The price level for alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased by 3.5 percent. Purchases of clothing and shoes turned out to be relatively cheap – there was an inflation rate of 1.8 percent.
Expensive car, cheaper public transport
The 42 percent increase in fuel prices in the previous year drove up the price level of the mini shopping basket. But the prices for used cars also rose by 21.5 percent. New cars became more expensive by 7.9 percent. Repairs to private transport rose by 5.2 percent.
Overall, this caused the price index for private car transport to rise by 17.2 percent. Cheaper commuter and annual tickets for local public transport – prices here fell by 31.6 percent – dampened the price increase for transport by one percentage point to 16.2 percent.
Strong price increases for housing, water, energy
For housing, water and energy, the price increases in 2022 were three and a half times as high as in 2021, averaging 12.6 percent.
The gas price rose the most with an increase of 80.8 percent. Solid fuels increased in price by 58.4 percent. Statistics Austria shows an increase of 7.7 percent for household effects and ongoing house maintenance.
Services have become moderately more expensive
For restaurants and hotels, guests have to calculate 8.9 percent more than a year ago. Spending on leisure and culture rose by 3.8 percent. Services prices rose moderately, up 4.6 percent, with the largest increase being in restaurants and leisure services, up 7.0 percent. For travel and accommodation, prices rose by 6.2 percent.
An increase of 3.4 percent is reported for transport services and 3.2 percent for housing services. There was hardly any increase in health, education, social protection and other services. Here the price level rose by only 2.5 percent. Only communications services, with prices remaining the same, performed weaker.
positive outlook
For this year, however, Josef Baumgartner from the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) expects that the higher prices will also have a greater impact on services – further price increases are also to be expected for food. Overall, the inflation rate for 2023 will only be around 6.5 percent, as Baumgartner said in the Ö1-Mittagsjournal. After all, there should be some relaxation in the area of energy prices.
The higher wage settlements and government measures such as the abolition of cold progression should also have a positive effect. Against this background, according to Baumgartner, economic researchers expect an increase in consumption – not least there are also “catch-up effects” from the pandemic. This can be seen, for example, in travel bookings or restaurant visits, says Baumgartner.
