THE ANNUAL RATE of inflation in Ireland slowed to 6.3% in April, according to the latest estimates from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

This is down from 7% in the 12 months up to March on the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), which allows for comparisons with Eurozone countries.

The CSO said its flash estimate showed the HICP for Ireland also increased by 0.3% since March 2023.

This compares with HICP inflation of 7% in Ireland in the 12 months to March 2023 and an annual increase of 6.9% in the HICP for the Eurozone in the same period.

Energy prices are estimated to have fallen by 1.3% in the month and risen by 12.1% over the 12 months to April 2023, while food prices increased by around 0.5% in the last month and are up by 12.8% in the last 12 months.

The HICP excluding energy and unprocessed food is estimated to have risen by 5.3% since April 2022.

Transport costs fell by 0.9% in the month and are down by 2% in the 12 months to April 2023.

Eurostat will publish flash estimates of inflation from the EU HICP for the eurozone for April 2023 on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the CSO published an update on Ireland’s own specific Consumer Price Index showing an annual rise by 7.7% in March, down from 8.5% in February.