Irlanda Actividad económica April 2023

Irlanda: Harmonized inflation falls to over one-year low in April

Harmonized inflation came in at 6.3% in April, down from March’s 7.0%. April’s figure represented the lowest inflation rate since February 2022. The reading was largely driven by a dip in transport prices.

The trend was unchanged, with annual average harmonized inflation coming in at March’s 8.4% in April. Meanwhile, consumer price inflation fell to 7.2% in April, from March’s 7.7%.

Finally, harmonized consumer prices rose 0.26% in April over the previous month, slowing down from the 0.95% increase recorded in March. April’s result marked the weakest reading since January.

Our panelists see inflation cooling to 3.1% by Q4 2023. Despite being significantly above the 10-year pre-pandemic average of 0.4%, this inflation figure would be the lowest since Q3 2021. Price pressures will be brought down by a tougher base effect and government measures. In February, the government unveiled a EUR 505 million cost-of-living package, and in March cut the tax on gasoline. Also in March, Prime Minister Varadkar said that the government was considering other measures such as subsidizing several state services and higher education.