The largest weighted negative contribution came from the sector Retail trade, mostly food and beverages, which decreased by 7.8 percent in fixed prices compared with March a year ago.

Housing, electricity, gas and heating accounted for the largest weighted positive contribution to total consumption and increased by 2.1 percent in fixed prices compared with March a year ago. The main factor behind the increase was (according to preliminary estimations) higher usage of electricity and district heating due to lower a temperature compared with March 2022. It should be noted that household interest expenses are not considered consumption.

To consider

Under present circumstances with broad price increases on consumer goods, consumption patterns may change. Consumers may choose cheaper alternatives for goods that have become more expensive (so called substitution). This might lead to an underestimation of household consumption measured in fixed prices. This might mostly be a concern for the sector Retail trade, mostly food and beverages, but can also be a factor within other sectors.

The next statistical news in this series is scheduled for publication on 2023-06-09 at 08:00.