Consumer Price Index August 2026

Headline Table and Graph

Figure 1 shows the development of the CPI and HICP over recent months. The primary difference between CPI and HICP is the inclusion of Mortgage Interest in the CPI, whereas it’s not included in the HICP. Full details of the difference between CPI and HICP can be found in the background notes of this release.

Annual and Monthly Price Changes

Prices on average, as measured by the CPI, are 3.7% higher in August 2026 compared with August 2025.

The most notable changes in the year were increases in Education Services (+8.9%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+8.5%) and Transport (+5.4%). No division showed a decrease when compared with August 2025.

Consumer Prices in August, as measured by the CPI, increased by 0.7% in the month. During August of last year prices rose by 0.4% in the month. The most significant monthly price increases were in Clothing & Footwear (+3.6%) and Transport (+3.0%). The largest monthly decrease was in Recreation, Sport & Culture (-1.1%).

Contributions to the Overall CPI

Annual Change

Table 3 shows the contribution of each 2-digit ECOICOP¹ division to the overall change in the CPI. A detailed breakdown of the individual components of each of the 13 ECOICOP divisions is presented in Tables 4 to 16.

The divisions which caused the largest upward percentage point (pp) contributions to the CPI in the year were Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+1.31 pp), Restaurants & Accommodation Services (+0.68 pp) and Transport (+0.61 pp).

No division made a negative contribution to the CPI in the year to August 2026.

The main factors contributing to the annual change were as follows:

• Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels increased primarily due to a rise in the cost of home heating oil, electricity, rents and mortgage interest repayments.
• Restaurants & Accommodation Services rose mainly due to higher prices for food and drinks consumed in licensed premises, restaurants, cafes, etc.
• Transport rose due to higher prices for diesel and petrol as well as increases in the cost of airfares and car hire.

¹_{European Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose version 2.}

Monthly Change

The divisions that caused the largest upward percentage point contributions to the CPI in the month were Transport (+0.33 pp), Clothing & Footwear (+0.16 pp) and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+0.13pp). The division which caused the largest downward percentage point contribution to the CPI in the month was Recreation, Sport & Culture (-0.08 pp).

The main factors contributing to the monthly change were as follows:

• Transport rose mainly due to higher costs for diesel and petrol as well as higher costs for car hire.
• Clothing & Footwear increased mainly due to a recovery from sales.
• Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels was up primarily due to increases in the cost of home heating oil.
• Recreation, Sport & Culture fell mainly due to lower prices package holidays. This decrease was partially offset by increases in the cost of tickets for cinemas, theatres and concert venues.

CPI sub-indices

Tables 4 to 16 detail all ECOICOP sub-indices of the CPI.

Table 2 and table 18 detail selected consumer price index sub-indices. The sub index for Services rose by 4.0% in the year to August, while Goods increased by 3.1%. Services excluding mortgage interest repayments increased by 3.7% in the year since August 2025.

The CPI excluding tobacco increased by 0.7% in the month of August and rose by 3.6% in the year. The CPI excluding mortgage interest rose by 0.7% in the month and climbed by 3.5% in the year.

Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices

Prices on average, as measured by the EU Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), increased by 3.4% compared with August 2025.

Table 20 details the ECOICOP sub-indices for the HICP. The most notable changes in the year were increases in Education Services (+9.0%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas & Other Fuels (+8.2%), and Transport (+5.7%). No division recorded a decline when compared with August 2025.

The HICP increased by 0.6% in the month. This compares to an increase of 0.4% recorded in August of last year.

The most significant monthly price increases were in Clothing & Footwear (+3.6%) and Transport (+2.8%). The largest price decreases were recorded in Recreation, Sport & Culture (-1.0%) and Insurance & Financial Services (-0.8%).

National Average Price

National Average Prices for selected goods and services for August 2026 are detailed in Table 21.

Looking at the National Average Prices of some staple items:

• The national average price for bread (large (800g) sliced pan – both white and brown) was down 2 cents in the year to August 2026.
• The national average price of 1kg of sirloin steak fell by 12 cents in the year, while the average price for 2.5kg of potatoes was down by 7 cents.
• The national average price of full fat milk per 2 litres was down 9 cents in the year, while butter per lb fell by 55 cents and the average price of Irish cheddar per kg decreased by 67 cents.
• The national average price of a take-home 50cl can of lager at €2.41 was down 1 cent compared to August 2025, while a take-home 50cl can of cider at €2.73 was up 3 cents.
• In August 2026, the national average price of a pint of stout in licensed premises was €6.33, up 26 cents in the year, while a pint of lager was €6.75, up 25 cents compared with August 2025.
• The national average price for a litre of diesel in August 2026 was €1.95, an increase of 25 cents on the same time last year. Petrol prices increased by 15 cents to €1.87 a litre.