Luxembourg inflation rate remains unchanged at 6.8%
Some items saw huge rises during August, according to Statec, including food and air fares, although fuel costs dropped compared to July
The annual inflation rate has remained stable, at 6.8%, according to Statec © Photo credit: Shutterstock
Luxembourg’s annual inflation rate remained largely unchanged at 6.8% in August, the country’s official statistics agency Statec said on Wednesday.
Although fuel prices were down 9% last month compared to July, costs have jumped by more than a third from August 2021, sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Luxembourg’s government said this month that it would not be extending subsidies at the pump for motorists introduced earlier this year.
An unprecedented spike in power prices in Europe, which have soared almost 10-fold in the past year, has fuelled inflation and increased the burden on businesses and households recovering from the pandemic.
Aside from fuel, other daily costs of living in Luxembourg have continued to rise month-on-month, with food prices up by almost 1% compared to July. Items including cheese, fresh fruit and beer saw price increases of between 2-3% within a month, Statec said, in its latest monthly inflation report on Wednesday.
A jump of almost 14% in the cost of clothes and shoes was blamed on the end of the summer sales, while the price of furniture and jewellery increased by more than 6%. The cost of taking a holiday has spiked, with airline fares rising by more than 21% in just one month.
Within the eurozone, only Malta had a slower increase in consumer prices for food, energy and services during August than Luxembourg, the EU's official statistics agency Eurostat said last week. Eurostat calculated the Grand Duchy's inflation rate at 8.6% in August, higher than Statec's total, owing to Eurostat's different "harmonised" consumer price measure.
