HU CPI: 16.4% in August, slightly higher-than-expected

August CPI: ongoing disinflation, though with higher m/m index
 Y/Y: 16.4% (Bloomberg consensus: 16.3%, previous: 17.6%)
 M/M: 0.7% (Bloomberg consensus: 0.5%, previous: 0.3% )
Disinflation slowed down slightly due to an 8.2% m/m jump of car fuel prices in August. Still, the y/y CPI index
dropped more than 1pp compared to the July figure. Base effect has remained on the rise, but m/m repricing
was less favourable (+0.3%) compared to the May-July period. The food prices rose, but below the average.
Household energy price level showed moderate rise. (The latter is still the result of the changing proportion of
consumers below and above the average consumption).
On a positive note, the 1.2pps drop of the headline y/y index was outpaced by the drop of core inflation (more
than 2pps) once again. This kept the core index below the headline, similar to July. The core shift was strongly
affected by lower service price inflation, which in turn was driven by a one-off impact (nearly 3% drop of some
telecom prices).
Over the past one year, household energy and fuel prices rose the most as y/y food prices dropped below
20% for the first time since May 2022. The headline y/y index is down by 9.3pps from the January peak.