The drop in petrol and diesel prices takes some of the heat off inflation

Inflation slowed in December, confirming signs that price increases may have peaked.

The consumer price index (CPI), a standard measure of inflation used by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), rose 8.2 percent between December 2021 and December 2022, compared with an 8.9 percent annual increase in the 12 months ended November 2022 .

Consumer prices fell by 0.2 percent in the month from November 2022 to December 2022, mainly due to a fall in the price of motor fuel.

Still, December marked the 15th straight month in which CPI’s annual increase was at least 5 percent — well above the norm of recent decades.

However, a significant easing in wholesale energy prices now appears to be helping to dampen the still sharp rise in prices.

Electricity bills, including heating, posted the largest increase of any spending area for the year to the end of December, up 25.9 percent. Breaking that down further, power was up 62.7 percent for the year, gas was up 86.5 percent, liquid fuels (heating oil) were up 39.9 percent, and solid fuels were up 46.9 percent for the year Percent.

Anthony Dawson, a statistician in the CSO pricing department, said: “Prices have increased annually since April 2021, with annual inflation of 5 percent or more recorded in every month since October 2021.”

The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 11.7 percent.

Figures released earlier this month by the EU’s statistics agency had already shown how a fall in energy prices helped inflation in Ireland fall to 8.2% in December from 9% in November, with the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices ( HICP) was used.

Euro-zone HICP inflation slowed to 9.2 percent year-on-year in December, down from 10.1 percent in the previous month.

However, the data showed that core inflation – which excludes volatile food and energy prices – hit a new record high of 5.2 percent year-on-year in the euro area in December.

Core inflation was 5 percent in November.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde hinted last month that the bank will make two or more half-point rate hikes this year as it seeks to bring inflation closer to its 2 percent target.

The next tariff meeting will take place on February 2nd.