
CSO: Food prices increase by 4% in past year
The EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for Ireland is estimated to have risen by 1.4% in the 12 months to May 2025 and remained unchanged since April 2025.
This compares with HICP inflation of 2% in Ireland in the 12 months to April 2025 and an annual increase of 2.2% in the HICP for the eurozone in the same period.
Looking at the components of the flash HICP for Ireland in May 2025, food prices are estimated to have increased by 1% in the last month and by +4.1% in the last 12 months.
Energy prices are estimated to have fallen by 1.3% in the month and decreased by 2.6% over the 12 months to May 2025.
The HICP, excluding energy and unprocessed food, is estimated to have gone up by 1.8% since May 2024.
Eurostat will publish flash estimates of inflation from the EU HICP for the eurozone for May 2025 on June 3, 2025.
Commenting on the data published today, statistician in the CSO Prices Division, Anthony Dawson said: 'The latest flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), compiled by the CSO, indicates that prices for consumer goods and services in Ireland are estimated to have increased by 1.4% in the past year.
'Looking at the components of the flash HICP in Ireland for May 2025, energy prices are estimated to have decreased by 1.3% in the month and fallen by 2.6% since May 2024.
'The HICP, excluding energy and unprocessed food prices, is estimated to have risen by 1.8% since May 2024.
'Food prices are estimated to have grown by 1% in the last month and increased by 4.1% in the last 12 months. Transport costs have fallen by 3% in the month and decreased by 2.4% in the 12 months to May 2025,' he added.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the official measure of inflation for Ireland and is published monthly by the CSO.
The CPI release for May 2025 will be published on June 12, 2025 and the final results of the HICP for Ireland for May 2025 will be published as part of the CPI release.
The HICP is an index of consumer prices that has been harmonised to allow comparisons across eurozone countries.
The CSO compiles the HICP flash estimates and final results for Ireland and submit those to Eurostat which then compiles the eurozone estimate and publishes that along with the results for the countries within the eurozone.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Irish Times
42 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Jump in unemployment dismissed as ‘statistical noise' by Davy
The rise in Ireland's unemployment rate has been dismissed by Davy stockbrokers as 'statistical noise'. The stockbroker also insisted the economy remained close to full employment . The State's jobless rate climbed to 4.9 per cent in July, up from 4.6 per cent and the highest rate in more than three years, according to figures published last week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The increase comes amid warnings about a potential slowdown triggered by US tariffs . READ MORE The upward revisions, flagged by the CSO, represent 'a mainly statistical aspect of the estimation process rather than providing any real-economy signal that Ireland's labour market conditions have worsened in 2025,' Davy chief economist Kevin Timoney said. He noted that the figures incorporated the latest Labour Force Survey, which has not yet been published, and included a new category of unemployment assistance (jobseekers' pay-related benefit) for the first time. 'Combined, these factors help to explain the higher unemployment rate estimate, and we expect this will unwind further into [the second half of the year],' Mr Timoney said. 'An alternative explanation is that high economic policy uncertainty in Ireland and abroad as a result of tariffs has resulted in an increase in the unemployment rate,' he said. 'However, we think the statistical factors noted above are more likely to explain the increase,' he added, noting that labour demand in the Irish economy remained strong. [ Unemployment climbs to highest rate in more than three years Opens in new window ] The State's jobless rate is now the highest rate in more than three years, according to Central Statistics Office figures. Photograph: Getty Images In its report, Davy also blamed softer-than-expected income tax receipts in the latest exchequer returns on 'slowing wage growth in high-earning sectors (which contribute the bulk of income tax receipts)'. The CSO will publish monthly payroll data on Friday. These are based on real-time Revenue data and are considered one of the more accurate barometers of the Irish labour market. Separately, European Central Bank officials are now expected to wait until December to deliver their next interest-rate cut in what is likely to be the final move in the cycle, according to a Bloomberg survey. Economists have pushed back expectations for another reduction in borrowing costs by three months, compared to a survey conducted in July. With the deposit rate then landing at 1.75 per cent, they see it remaining there for nine to 10 months before a pickup in demand will likely force them to reverse course. Waiting until the final meeting of 2025 would give ECB policymakers the luxury of more time to assess the impact of trade disruption caused by US President Donald Trump. By December, policymakers will have seen how the economy performed in the third quarter, offering a clearer picture of underlying momentum after distortions caused by attempts to front-run US tariffs earlier in the year. – additional reporting by Bloomberg


Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
CSO records 149,000 immigrants in 12 months, the highest number in 16 years
Nearly 150,000 people migrated to Ireland in the 12 months to April 2024, the largest number in 16 years, according to the Central Statistics Office. The CSO said more than 149,000 people immigrated over that time period, the third successive year in which incomings numbered more than 100,000. Some 30,000 of that number were returning Irish citizens, 27,000 came from elsewhere in the EU, and nearly 87,000 were other nationalities. Just 5,400 of the incoming cohort were British citizens. The vast majority of those entering Ireland, some 77,200 people, were aged between 25 and 44, the CSO said, with those aged between 25 and 34 showing the highest migration flows. The lowest proportion of people entering Ireland were those aged over 65, who accounted for just 3% of the movement noted. Aside from other EU countries and Britain, citizens of India, Brazil, and Ukraine were the most likely to move to Ireland. Ukrainians the exception to gender split Incoming arrivals are split evenly between men and women. The exception in recent years to this was in August, September, and October 2022, in the aftermath of the conflict emerging between Russia and Ukraine, when a significantly higher number of females entered Ireland than males. However, while the country saw record levels of immigration in the year to April, emigration levels were also at their highest in a decade at the same time. At least 69,000 emigrated during the 12 months in question, 35,000 of them Irish citizens, with Australia one of the most popular destinations. With 10,600 people heading there, 2024 saw Australia's popularity among the Irish diaspora reach its highest levels since the post-crash days of 2013. Population estimate of 5.38m The CSO said that, at best estimate, Ireland's population in the non-census year starting April 2024 was just under 5.38m people. The population of Dublin at that time was 1.53m, representing 28.5% of the total, while across the country 4.5m people living in Ireland held Irish citizenship, just under 85% of the total. A recent study by the Economic and Social Research Institute suggests the majority of Irish people have a positive view of migration into Ireland. However, the ESRI also found that 'people with lower qualifications and those who find 'making ends meet' more difficult' are less positive about immigration overall, believe protesting international protection arrivals is more acceptable, and feel less comfortable with the majority of migrant groupings.


Irish Examiner
10 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
David McNamara: UK and Eurozone similar in many respects, except on rates
Last week's knife-edge Bank of England (BoE) rate cut came amid ongoing uncertainty on the global and domestic front for policymakers. The caution of the BoE is notable given the current weakness of the UK economy. Comparing high-level macro data to the Eurozone suggests both economies are growing similarly at historically weak rates of about 1% per annum. Nevertheless, the ECB has been much more aggressive in its rate-cutting cycle, lowering its key deposit rate to 2% from a peak of 4%. In contrast, the BoE has lowered its rate gradually to 4% from 5.25%. Once again, there was no unanimity within the BoE on its policy decision. The voting breakdown showed five members in favour of cutting rates. Four of these five voted for a 25bps reduction. The other dovish voter was initially in favour of a 50bps rate reduction due to recessionary concerns, before settling on a 25bps cut. Meanwhile, four members preferred to keep rates unchanged on their view that the 'disinflationary process had slowed'. While the UK and Eurozone economies have posted meagre growth amid weak productivity and business investment, the key differentiator which has kept the BoE on the sidelines for much of the past year is inflation. UK CPI inflation has plateaued at c.3.5%, while Eurozone inflation has fallen rapidly to just 2%. Having declined throughout Q1, UK inflation jumped markedly higher in recent months, owing in part to Budget decisions, such as the tax hikes and increases in regulated energy prices. The BoE still expects inflation to fall back to its 2% target in the medium term. Its latest forecasts are for the headline rate to be at 3.75% by year-end and to decline to 2.5% by the end of 2026, before slowing to 2.0% by the end of 2027. However, there remains considerable uncertainty on the outlook, with persistently high inflation pointing to a supply-side problem, brought on by historically weak rates of investment over the past decade amid the consecutive shocks of Brexit, covid-19 and the war in Ukraine. This supply-demand imbalance has pushed up inflation and likely fed through to higher wages, which in turn can boost consumer prices in a negative feedback loop. These lingering inflationary pressures are now being amplified by policy changes by the Government, which the BoE fears may become embedded in even higher prices. The takeaway is the BoE will tread cautiously from here amid the current policy fog. UK futures contracts are now not fully pricing in another 25bps rate cut until February 2026. Prior to the meeting, the market was anticipating another rate cut before the end of this year. However, the BoE will likely maintain its practice of easing policy at meetings that coincide with the publication of its Monetary Policy Report (MPR), the next one being in November. David McNamara is Chief Economist with AIB