We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE COST OF LIVING in the Eurozone rose by 2.2 per cent in 2012 – the lowest rate of inflation for several months – according to new figures published this morning.
Eurostat’s data showed that the EU’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices rose by an estimated 2.2 per cent in the twelve months ending in December, the same figure as had been given for the year ending in November.
The drop in the last few months is relatively stark; inflation had stood at 2.6 per cent in the year ending August and September, and at 2.5 per cent in October.
Food prices rose by 3.1 per cent in 2012, while energy prices were up by 5.2 per cent. Prices of non-energy industrial goods was up by 1.1 per cent, while the price of services rose by 1.1 per cent.
The inflation rate is significantly higher than in Ireland, where the most recent figures – for November – showed the HICP as having risen only by 1.6 per cent in the 12 months up to then.
The Consumer Price Index, the CSO’s own preferred measure of inflation, showed an annual increase of 0.8 per cent at that time.
The falling rate of inflation could encourage the European Central Bank to reduce interest rates at its first meeting of 2013, to be held next Thursday in Frankfurt.
The ECB usually interprets its mandate – as ensuring price stability – to mean that inflation would ideally be held at 2 per cent.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
How much has the cost of living increased in Ireland since 2006? Does anyone know? Would be interesting to see this in the context of job losses & wage cuts. Our labour force is taking the brunt of the last six budgets to ‘improve competitiveness’ which is code for ‘make them poorer’. This is sadly not a conspiracy theory, it’s simply austerity.
Rubbish.
Higher prices mean people will demand less not more.
If you wanna increase “consumer spending” why not lower the cost?
I’m tired of this type of demagoguery.
Since 2006:
2006: 3.9%
2007: 4.9%
2008: 4.1%
2009: -4.5%
2010: -1.6%
2011: 2.6%
Thanks Gavan, I appreciate that. This trend allied with pay cuts & increased taxes explains in stark numbers why so many are struggling to make ends meet. Something has gotta give.
Almost 12% since 2006 and recall that should be compounded, so it’s actually more.
And these are fudged govt numbers, no doubt.
“All fiat currencies return to their intrinsic value — zero” – Voltaire
If debt remains the same in relaton to the rate of inflation then in effect it shrinks the debt. Considering the countrys massive level if indebtness inflation may allow us to outgrow our debts. Low levels of inflation actually plays in to the hands of the likes of Germany by keeping their cost base artificially low making it more competitiive in markets like China Etc.
But Keith, at the cost of who? The poor and the old?
The cost of those about to retire as they see the value of their funds decline in relation to living costs and those with savings.
@Michael: Compounded, the interest rate between 1/1/2006 and 31/12/2011 is 9.39%.
That is to say, the average product that cost €100 at the start of 2006 cost €109.39 at the end of 2011.
And this year brings it to…111.80?
That means purchasing power (and savings) has been reduced by a little more than 10% in 6 years.
10% increase in the price of food, fuel and commodities? What planet are they on???
“You can fool some people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time”
This system has to stop.
Best image caption ever Gavin!!
Why do we continue to squeeze the poor and middle class with inflation? 2.2% is high. What is wrong with deflation? Give the people on fixed incomes a chance? Lower prices of basic commodities? Relieve the pressure on gold?
Thus love of inflation makes me sick. Stop the money printing to afford these entitlements. Balance the budget.
Bring back sanity? Not Keynesian NONSENSE.
We already have one of the most expensive electricity and gas prices range from 30-45% higher than Europe.internet Broadband is amongst the most expensive monthly and slowest broadband to most European countries.ready to go top ups also the most expensive with the least amount of minutes.car prices 30% higher than other EURO countries.all of these major factors added to higher transport cost of public and private usage and we could really see how much we’re being screwed by a government and Europe.
Those who own the printing presses use inflation to keep the citizens enslaved in debt, too busy to ask questions like who owns the Federal Reserve bank in America.
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say