Press release: 12.324-164/20

Inflation decreased to 1.4% in August 2020 (HICP: 1.4%)

Vienna, 2020-09-17 – In August 2020, the inflation rate was 1.4%, as Statistics Austria reports (July 2020: 1.7%). Significant summer sales for clothing had a dampening effect on the August inflation rate. Housing, water and energy (+2.3% compared to August 2019) remained the most important price driver, followed by expenditures for restaurants and hotels (+3.2%). The index level of the consumer price index 2015 (CPI 2015) was 108.0 in August 2020. Compared to the previous month, the average price level decreased by 0.2%.

As in July 2020, the measures to contain COVID-19 in August only had a small impact on the calculation of the inflation rate. Imputation methods like seasonal imputation were used for a few items in the tourism sector and all items imputation for a few services in the entertainment sector; this affected about 3.8% of the weight of the basket of goods and services. For further in-depth explanation of the general principles and applied computation rules, please refer to the methodological information note on the compilation of the CPI in the context of COVID-19.

The index level of the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP 2015) was 107.81 in August 2020 (July 2020 revised 108.14), with the harmonised inflation rate at 1.4%.

For more detailed information please refer to the German version.