Consumer prices in the Czech Republic increased by 0.7% in July compared to the previous month. On a year-on-year basis, prices rose by 2.2% in July, up by 0.2 percentage points from June. These figures were reported by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ) today.
The monthly rise of 0.7% in July was primarily driven by a 25.1% increase in seasonal package holiday prices within the leisure and culture sector. In the transport sector, prices for fuels and oils rose by 1.3%. In the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector, specific increases included poultry by 6.4%, chocolate products by 7.7%, and butter by 4.3%. Conversely, clothing and shoe prices fell, with clothing down by 0.9% and shoes by 1.9%.
Overall, prices for goods increased by 0.1%, while service prices rose by 1.6%.
Year-on-Year Comparison
“The slight acceleration in price increases in July compared to the same month last year was largely due to food prices. Although they were about 3% cheaper than in July of the previous year, the decline was less pronounced,” said Pavla Šedivá, Head of the Consumer Price Statistics Department at the Czech Statistical Office.
Year-on-year, consumer prices in July rose by 2.2%, up 0.2 percentage points from June.
Flour prices were 15.4% lower in July (down from 20.9% in June), poultry meat down 5.8% (from 12.1% in June), eggs down 17.2% (from 20.4% in June), and fruit down 4.2% (from 6.3% in June). Prices for butter increased by 15.2% year-on-year (up from 11.5% in June), chocolate by 16.0% (from 9.5% in June), and soft drinks by 3.4% (from 1.3% in June).
The largest contribution to the year-on-year price increase in July came from the housing sector. Residential rents rose by 6.8%, goods and services for home maintenance by 4.4%, water by 10.9%, wastewater by 13.4%, electricity by 8.9%, and heat and hot water by 5.0%. However, prices for natural gas and solid fuels fell by 6.7% and 2.9%, respectively.
Significant price increases were also observed in the catering and accommodation sector, with food services rising by 7.1% and accommodation services by 8.8%.
Prices for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products increased, with spirits up by 3.4%, beer by 4.9%, and tobacco products by 6.6%. Wine prices, however, decreased by 2.6% year-on-year.
The cost of owner-occupied housing (rent) increased by 0.9% year-on-year (0.8% in June). The overall consumer price index, excluding the cost of owner-occupied housing, stood at 102.3%.
Prices for goods rose by 0.6% overall, while prices for services increased by 4.9%.
Preliminary estimates by Eurostat indicate that the inflation rate in the eurozone was 2.6% in July 2024, up from 2.5% in June. In Germany, inflation was 2.6%, and in Slovakia, it was 2.9%. Belgium had the highest inflation rate at 5.5%, while Finland had the lowest at 0.6%. In the EU-27, the inflation rate for June was 2.6%, down 0.1 percentage points from May, with Belgium at 5.4% and Finland at 0.5%.
