According to recent data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), this is not only the third consecutive month that the annual rise of the CPI has fallen below 5%, but it is also the only time since September 2021 that this has happened.

In the 12 months leading up to January 2024, the CPI increased by 5.3% when energy and unprocessed food were excluded.

Restaurants & hotels (+7.2%) and recreation & culture (+9.3%) saw the biggest gains in the 12 months leading up to January 2024.

Clothes and footwear was the only section to see a decrease from January 2023 to January 2024 (-1.3%).

The monthly difference between December 2023 and January 2024 was 1.3% for consumer prices. The two divisions that had the biggest declines throughout the month were transportation (-4.1%) and apparel and footwear (-10.1%).

Tobacco and alcoholic drinks (+2.4%) were the only categories that saw growth from December 2023 forward.