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Annual inflation climbs to 9.5% in October

Prices in Ireland rose at an annual rate of 9.5% in October, according to an early estimate from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figure, for the EU harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), was up from 8.6% in September.

The CSO said that energy prices had increased by 13.6% during October alone, and were up almost 48% over the past 12 months.

Euro figure due

It estimated that, when energy prices were excluded, prices rose at an annual rate of 5.9% during October.

The CSO provides the ‘flash’ estimate of inflation to the EU statistics body Eurostat, which will publish its estimate for the euro zone on Monday (31 October).

The European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday (27 October) announced a further 0.75-point rise in interest rates in an effort to bring inflation under control.

Retail sales down again

Separate CSO figures indicated that consumer spending weakened in September, with the volume of retail sales down by 3.1% during the month, and by 7% on an annual basis.

The monthly fall was the biggest since December 2021. The annual figure has now been negative for five months in a row.

The biggest drop during September came in the category covering food, beverages, and tobacco (7.2%), while sales of clothing, footwear, and textiles fell by 5.1%.

While the volume of fuel sales in the year to September fell by 3.9%, the value of those sales was up 17.6%, reflecting higher prices.