Credit: Statec
The annual rate of inflation decreased to 1.9% in Luxembourg in December 2018.
In December 2018, the national consumer price index, calculated by STATEC, fell by 0.3% compared to the previous month. This downward movement is explained by a decrease (-5.8%) in the price of petroleum products since Novembre last year.
More specifically, the price of heating oil decreased by 12.3% in one month, whilst motorists spend 6.5% less for a full tank of diesel and 6% less for a full tank of petrol. Despite declines in the last two months, the price of black gold in the index basket was 5.5% higher than in December 2017.
Prices for other goods and services were stagnant compared to November 2018. This can be explained by variations: prices in the food aisle fell 0.7% in one month, whereas increases were recorded for the rental of vehicles and parking spaces (+11.9%), watchmaking (+1.6%), interior furniture (+1.3%) and hairdressing and beauty salons (+0.3%).
At the end of the year, seasonal movements also influenced the general index. Thus, the rise in prices for passenger air transport (+7.9%) was countered by a drop in prices for package travel (-2.9%). Likewise, airline ticket prices were 6.1% lower than in December 2017. On the services side, household services (+1.4% compared with November), as well as retirement homes and care (+0.3%) recorded visible increases.
Finally, the annual inflation rate fell from 2.3% in November to 1.9% in December 2018, whilst the annual rate of core inflation remained at 1.7%.
