Inflation comes in slightly above the CNB’s 2% target in July 2024

The CNB comments on the July 2024 inflation figures

According to figures released today, the price level increased by 2.2% year on year in July 2024. Annual consumer price inflation accelerated by 0.2 percentage point compared to the previous month but remains very close to the CNB’s 2% target.

Annual inflation was 0.2 percentage point higher in July than the CNB’s summer forecast. This was due to stronger growth in administered prices and a lower-than-expected decline in prices of food, beverages and tobacco. Core inflation was also slightly higher than expected. Its month-on-month growth reflected a stronger seasonal increase in prices of package holidays. By contrast, fuel prices rose exactly in line with the forecast.

July 2024 year-on-year in %
MPR Summer 2024 actual value
CPI 2.0 2.2
Administered prices 5.0 5.4
First-round impacts of changes to indirect taxes 0.1 0.1
Adjusted for changes to indirect taxes    
Prices of food, beverages, tobacco -0.4 -0.1
Core inflation 2.2 2.3
Fuel prices 4.6 4.6
Monetary policy-relevant inflation 1.9 2.1

A stabilisation of core inflation is being fostered not only by weak growth in the prices of foreign inputs, but also the previous protracted downturn in domestic demand due in part to tight CNB monetary policy. This is fostering a decrease in the profit mark-ups of producers, retailers and service providers over their costs. These factors moderating market services inflation are thus offsetting the buoyant wage growth. Goods prices within core inflation are rising only marginally year on year. The growth in imputed rent accelerated slightly and is beginning to gradually reflect the current recovery on the property market.

Food prices continued to show an only modest year-on-year decline due to the previous decrease in global agricultural commodity prices and domestic agricultural producer prices. Fuel prices are rising much more slowly than in the spring months. In month-on-month terms, however, they increased slightly due to the depreciation of the koruna in July. Annual administered price inflation continued to slow in July owing to a gradual decrease in energy prices for households.

In month-on-month terms, the price level increased by 0.7% in July. This was due mainly to an increase in package holiday prices, which had lagged significantly behind their usual seasonal pattern in June, partly offsetting this in July. According to the CNB’s summer forecast, inflation will be close to the 2% target for the rest of this year.

Jakub Matějů, Deputy Executive Director, Monetary Department