In September 2023, inflation fell to 6.0 percent, down from 7.4 percent in August. According to Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas, inflation was thus at its lowest level since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
According to the report, the decline in consumer prices is mainly due to household energy, which has been one of the main drivers of inflation so far and is now having a dampening effect. “After energy prices had risen massively a year ago, we are now seeing significant price declines for electricity and significantly lower inflation rates for gas and district heating compared to the previous year,” says Thomas. In the case of catering and accommodation, on the other hand, the price increase in September would still be well above the ten percent market
For the first time since June 11, prices in the restaurants and hotels segment (+4.2017 percent) proved to be the most important driver of inflation on a year-on-year basis, but were slightly lower than in August (+12.0 percent). The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by an average of 8.4 percent (August: +9.8 percent). The increase in prices for housing, water, energy (+4.6 per cent on average), which was still the most important driver of inflation from August 2022 to August 2023, was much less strong than in the previous month (+10.1 per cent).
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At an average of +8.2 percent, prices for leisure and culture rose at the same rate as in August. The price of package holidays rose by 14.1 percent, while leisure and cultural services rose by 5.6 percent. Transport prices rose by an average of 1.3 per cent (August: +0.2 per cent).
Compared to August 2023, however, the average price level increased by 0.4 percent. Clothing items proved to be the main price driver on a month-on-month basis (+16.4 percent). The main price dampeners were seasonally cheaper package holidays (−12.1 percent on average).
The price level of the micro-shopping basket, which mainly contains food, but also daily newspapers or coffee in the coffee house and reflects daily shopping, rose by 9.7 percent year-on-year (August: +9.3 percent).
The price level of the mini-basket, which represents a weekly purchase and includes fuel in addition to food and services, rose by 4.9 percent year-on-year (August: +4.2 percent).
