Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In September 2023, the consolidated CPI for the month was 101.2%, by December 2022 – 105.1%. The average monthly increase in the CPI for JanuarySeptember of this year reached 0.6%, the Statistics Agency said in a report.

In annual terms (by September of the previous year), the consolidated CPI was fixed at 109.2%.

In September 2023, the CPI for goods for the month was 101.4%, services – 100.6%. Since the beginning of this year, this figure for goods reached 105.3%, services – 104.7%. In annual terms, it formed, respectively, at the levels of 109.5% and 108.2%.

According to the approved methodology, prices are recorded monthly from the 10th to the 20th. Data collection is organized in such a way that registration of prices in this time period for each item is carried out once, and the interval between registrations for adjacent periods is one calendar month. When calculating the CPI, the influence of assortment and territorial shifts is excluded in order to identify only inflationary factors.

The entire set of goods and services for monitoring price changes, consisting of 510 items, is divided into three large groups.

The short-term CPI for food products in September of this year amounted to 101.8%, non-food products – 101.0%, paid services – 100.6%. By December last year, the CPI for food products was fixed at 105.6%, non-food products – 104.8%, paid services – 104.7%. The CPI in annual terms for food and non-food products was at the level of 111.0% and 107.6%, for services it reached 108.2%.

The short-term CPI for food products in September 2023 was influenced by a number of factors. The most significant increase in prices was noted for grain crops and cereal products, as well as for meat products. The reduction in prices for certain types of fruits and vegetables served as a deterrent.

The annual CPI for food products during the nine months of this year decreased from 115.4% in January to 111.0% in September. The decrease in this indicator for services was less pronounced.

Without taking into account changes in prices for fruits and vegetables, the short-term consolidated CPI for September 2023 amounted to 101.2%. By the level of December 2022, this indicator was fixed at 105.5%, and by September 2022 – 108.9%.

Due to the increase in prices for food products, the consolidated CPI for the month increased by 0.77 p.p. Price changes for non-food products and paid services to the population increased the aggregate indicator by 0.47 p.p.

The share of food products accounted for over 45.0% of the total contribution of the three main groups to the growth of the consolidated CPI by December 2022 (versus 52.2% a year earlier). The contribution of price changes for services was the smallest among the three main groups - its share was 21.2%. The increase in the consolidated CPI in annual terms is more than half associated with rising prices for food products (50.9%).

In September 2023, the range of short-term CPI by section was from 100.5% (section IV. “Housing services, water, electricity, gas and other fuels”) to 101.9% (section I. “Food and soft drinks").

The CPI for JanuarySeptember 2023 by section ranged from 99.8% (VIII. “Information and Communication”) to 113.6% (XI. “Restaurants and Hotel Services”).

The lowest annual CPI in September 2023 was recorded for goods and services in the field of information and communications (99.3%), the highest – for the services of restaurants and hotels (121.9%).

Short-term CPI in September 2023 in the groups “Meat products” (101.1%), “Fish and other seafood” (99.6%), “Oils and fats” (100.3%), “Vegetables, tubers and legumes” (100.8%), “Sugar, confectionery and desserts” (100.2%), “Ready food and other food products” (100.2%) was lower than the same figure for September 2022.

The short-term CPI for grain crops and cereal products in September 2023 for the month amounted to 105.0%, meat products – 101.1%, fruits and nuts – 102.3%.

The average price level for oil and fat products in September of this year still remained lower than at the end of 2022. The CPI for the Oils and Fats group for January-September 2023 was 91.8%.

The CPI for vegetables, tubers and legumes for January-September of this year was fixed by 7.3 points below the threshold of 100.0%.

The annualized CPI for September 2023 was lower than the same indicator for September last year in all groups, with the exception of the Meat Products, Milk, Other Dairy Products and Eggs, and Fruits and Nuts groups. At the same time, the average price level for fat and oil products remained lower than in September last year

In September of this year, there was a decrease in prices for a number of vegetables. The range of short-term CPI for goods with price declines was from 79.6% (tomatoes) to 97.2% (cabbage). Compared to December 2022, prices for eggplants decreased most significantly among the observed types of fruits and vegetables. They also became the product with the lowest CPI in annual terms.

Among the goods included in section I. “Food and non-alcoholic drinks”, the most significant contribution to the increase in the consolidated CPI for the month was made by an increase in prices for grain crops, cereal products and meat products. The total contribution of the two indicated groups reached 0.53 p.p. The increase in prices for dairy products ensured an increase in the composite indicator by 0.09 p.p. In the structure of the growth of the consolidated CPI by December 2022, a significant contribution belongs to cereals and cereals (+0.82 p.p.), meat products (+0.74 p.p.), as well as fruits and nuts (+0.45 p.p.). Lower prices for fat and oil products, as well as vegetables, tubers and legumes caused reduction of the consolidated CPI by 0.55 p.p.

In September of this year, fluctuations in the short-term CPI in section III. “Clothing and footwear” ranged from 99.9% (men’s and boys’ T-shirts) to 102.1% (children’s sneakers and similar shoes).

In section IV. “Housing services, water, electricity, gas and other types of fuel”, the tariff situation for basic types of utilities in September of this year was stable. Against this background, an increase in housing rental fees was noted in a number of regions (on average in the republic by 2.4%). The short-term CPI for materials and services for the maintenance and repair of residential premises in September of this year amounted to 100.8% and 101.7%, respectively.

In September of this year, fluctuations in the short-term CPI in section V. “Household items, household appliances and routine housing maintenance” ranged from 100.2% (washing powder) to 104.7% (matches).

Range of fluctuations in the short-term CPI for goods included in section VI. “Healthcare” in September of this year ranged from 100.0% (medical diagnostic products) to 101.8% (antihistamines). In addition, the CPI in annual terms in the groups “Medicines and medical products”, “Outpatient treatment services” and “Other health services” in September of this year was lower than in the same period of the previous year.

In September 2023, like a month earlier, gasoline prices increased in all regions. The average monthly CPI for this type of fuel in the republic was 102.3%.

The short-term CPI for gas fuel for motor vehicles in September of this year amounted to 102.4%, including for methane – 102.9%, propane – 101.0%. The CPI for vehicle maintenance and repair services reached 101.4% for the month.

The short-term CPI for air passenger transport services in September was fixed at 98.7%, which was due to changes in the exchange rate of the national currency against the euro. The CPI for railway passenger transport services by August 2023 was 99.4%.

The short-term CPI for information and communication equipment in September this year was recorded at 100.5%. The range of fluctuations in the short-term CPI for goods included in the group in September of this year ranged from 100.2% (computers and tablets) to 101.1% (fixed telephone equipment).

Against the background of the stability of the main observed services in the field of information technology, in September of this year, price changes were recorded only for services for the repair of information and communication equipment, where the short-term CPI reached 101.6%.

During September 2023, a price decrease of 0.8% was noted for certain types of stationery (school notebooks, A4 paper). The increase in prices for goods and services in this section ranged from 0.3% (backpacks) to 2.5% (covers for notebooks, books and documents).

The level of prices for services of public preschool educational institutions, as well as in the field of higher education, did not change in September of this year.

In September of this year, public catering services increased in price in nine regions, where the short-term CPI ranged from 100.1% to 102.5%. Hotel services have risen in price in three regions of the republic (within 0.4-2.0%), while recreation centers have maintained price stability.

In September of this year, the price situation in the market of observed insurance services remained stable. Among financial services, price changes were noted for services of banking institutions (102.1%), money transfer services (100.8%) and services of microfinance organizations (100.5%).

In September of this year, the range of fluctuations in short-term CPI for goods and services included in the group ranged from 100.1% (bathhouse and shower services) to 102.1% (hairdressing services in men’s salons).

The level of short-term CPI for goods and services of this group in September of this year ranged from 100.2% (sunglasses) to 102.1% (jewelry services).

Among other services, price increases in September of this year were noted for photocopying services (101.5%) and funeral services (100.4%).

More than a third of the total increase in the consolidated CPI by December 2022 is provided by price changes for food and non-alcoholic drinks. Their contribution reached 2.10 percentage points, or 40.9%. The limiting factor was the reduction in prices in the “Information and Communication” section. The share of the contribution of rising prices for food and nonalcoholic drinks in the growth of the composite indicator compared to September last year was about 46.1%. As in the case of the CPI for January-September of the current year, the downward factor for the annual CPI was the decline in prices for communication services.