In July 2022, the year-on-year harmonised inflation rate continued to grow at a more moderate way, reaching 12.8%

Consumer prices rose by 12.8% year-on-year in July 2022 according to the European harmonised methodology, compared with 12.6% in June 2022. Month-on-month HICP inflation was 0.6% in July, compared with 0.5% in July last year.

The annual average HICP inflation rate in July 2022 (reflecting the percentage change in the average of the price level of the harmonised consumer price indices over the last 12 months compared to the average of the previous 12 months) increased by 0.9 percentage point compared to its value in the previous month June 2022 to 8.0%. The annual average HICP inflation rate is an important indicator of price stability in a country, and its level is also considered as one of the four so-called Maastricht criteria that an EU Member State has to meet before adopting the euro.

During July 2022, the harmonised consumer price indices rose by 0.6% month-on-month in total. As in the previous month, the month-on-month increase in the price level was mostly influenced by price increases in the Food and non-alcoholic beverages division, which accounted for more than half of the total month-on-month price increase: the positive contribution of the whole division accounted for +0.34 percentage points of the total month-on-month inflation. The second most significant price increases in July compared to June were the price increases in the division Furniture, furnishings and routine household maintenance (contribution of this division was +0.08 points, of which the increase in prices of goods and services for routine household maintenance was +0.05 points) and the price increases in the division Miscellaneous goods and services (contribution of this division  +0.08 points, of which the increase in prices of goods and services for personal care was +0.06 points). The third most significant impact with the same contribution of +0.06 points to the total figure was made by two divisions - Housing and energies and Recreation and Culture. The first contribution was mainly influenced by the increase in the prices of solid fuels +0.05 points, the second contribution by the increase in the price of package holidays +0.03 points. Prices also increased significantly in the division Restaurants and hotels: a positive contribution of +0.04 points to the overall month-on-month inflation. A smaller dampening effect on month-on-month inflation was exerted by price developments in the two divisions:  Clothing and footwear and Transport. The overall decrease in prices for July against the previous month made a negative contribution to inflation of -0.03 points in the former division and -0.01 points in the latter division, while price movements in Transport division were bi-directional, but overall the decrease in fuel prices prevailed the increase in the prices of purchases of means of transport and in the prices of transport services.