Prices rose 6.3 percent in the year to April, according to the European statistics agency Eurostat and the country’s Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This was slightly lower than the 7% rise in the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices recorded for this country in March, but it means household costs continue to rise at a rapid pace.
According to the statisticians, prices in this country rose by 0.3 percent this month.
Food prices rose nearly 13 percent in the state in the year to April, after rising 0.5 percent in the month.
Energy prices are estimated to have fallen by 1.3 percent this month, but have risen by 12.1 percent over the past year.
If unprocessed food and energy are not included in the index, so-called core inflation in April was 5.3 percent.
Companies that increase their profit margins have been cited by the European Central Bank and other authorities, among others, as one of the main factors behind high levels of inflation.
CSO statistician Anthony Dawson said: “The latest flash estimate of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), compiled by the CSO, indicates that prices for consumer goods and services in Ireland are estimated to have risen by 6.3 per cent over the past years and has risen by 0.3 percent since March 2023.”
Next Tuesday, Eurostat will publish flash estimates of inflation for the eurozone for April.
Persistent inflation in the eurozone means there will be another rate hike announced by the European Central Bank on Thursday.
The ECB could announce two more rate hikes by July, according to market commentators.
On Friday, the International Monetary Fund called on the ECB to keep raising interest rates until mid-2024 and called on EU finance ministers to tighten fiscal policy in a concerted move to curb high inflation.
The head of the IMF’s European division, Alfred Kammer, told a press conference ahead of a meeting of EU finance ministers and central bank governors that inflation was the main concern.
“Our main policy recommendation is to beat inflation and that means using the monetary policy tool. For the ECB, that means further tightening, longer tightening, we estimate until mid-2024, to bring inflation back to target somewhere. ” in 2025,” said Kammer.
“Inflation is a burden, especially on the poor, and it needs to be addressed,” Kammer said.
Headline inflation in the 20 countries using the euro was 6.9 percent year on year in March, but core inflation, which excludes major swings in energy and food prices, was even higher at 7.5 percent.
Another three rate hikes by the ECB mean that the average mortgage holder has seen annual repayments increase by more than €2,500 since last summer.
Typical tracker interest rates have risen from just 1.15 percent in June last year to an average of 4.65 percent today. More increases will also drive up the cost of new fixed rates, likely with more pressure on variables.
Rising fixed rates make it more difficult for first-time buyers to afford a home.
About 50,000 homeowners will get out of flat rates in the next three years, with financial advisers telling them to break out of these arrangements early and re-establish before rates go even higher.
