2020.04.1710:29:00UTC+00Austria Inflation Slows In March

Austria's consumer price inflation eased in March, driven by a fall in fuel prices, data from Statistics Austria revealed on Friday.

The consumer price index increased 1.6 percent year-on-year in March, following a 2.2 percent rise in February.

The containment measures adopted against the spread of the coronavirus had only a very limited impact on the calculation of the March inflation rate, the agency said.

That is because the price surveys for the consumer price index were mainly carried out in the first half of the month, which was before the COVID -19- related business closings.

Fuel prices dropped 8.5 percent, leading to a 0.4 percent drop in the transport group.

Restaurant and hotels prices grew 3.2 percent and housing, water and energy charges rose 2.4 percent. Education and teaching cost were up 2.2 percent. Communication costs declined 4.9 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in March, mainly due to an increase in prices of clothing and shoes.

EU measure of harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, rose 1.6 percent in March, after a 2.2 percent increase in the prior month.

On a month-on-month basis, HICP rose 0.5 percent in March.