| Click for the Finfacts Ireland Portal Homepage |

Finfacts Business News Centre

Home 
 
 News
 Irish
 European
 International
 
 Analysis/Comment

RSS FEED


How to use our RSS feed

 
Web Finfacts

See Search Box lower down this column for searches of Finfacts news pages. Where there may be the odd special character missing from an older page, it's a problem that developed when Interactive Tools upgraded to a new content management system.

Welcome

Finfacts is Ireland's leading business information site and you are in its business news section.

We provide access to live business television and business related videos from: Bloomberg TV; The Wall Street Journal; CNBC and the Financial Times. Click image:

Links

Finfacts Homepage

Irish Share Prices

Euribor Daily Rates

Irish Economy

Global Income Per Capita

Global Cost of Living

Irish Tax 2008

Climate Change Reports

Global News

Bloomberg News

CNN Money

Cnet Tech News

Newspapers

Irish Independent

Irish Times

Irish Examiner

New York Times

Financial Times

Technology News

 

Feedback

 

Content Management by interactivetools.com.

News : European Last Updated: Jul 17, 2009 - 3:22:42 PM


Denmark, Ireland and Finland were dearest for consumer goods such as food, clothing and electronics in EU in 2008
By Finfacts Team
Jul 16, 2009 - 1:38:32 PM

Email this article
 Printer friendly page

Denmark, Ireland and Finland had the highest overall prices of all European Union countries for consumer goods such as food, clothing and electronics , in 2008, the EU statistics agency said Thursday.

Eurostat said widely different taxes on food, alcohol and tobacco across the EU's 27 states account for a massive price gap where Ireland tops the table and Romania is cheapest. Food and nonalcoholic drinks are most expensive in Denmark and cheapest in Bulgaria.

 

It said the difference for clothing prices is smaller, with Britain being the least costly and Finland the most expensive. Prices for consumer electronics also vary less, it said. Britain is again the cheapest destination for these and Malta the priciest.

Hotels cost the most in Denmark and the least in Bulgaria, Eurostat said.

In 2008, price levels for consumer goods and services differed widely across member countries.

Denmark (141% of the EU27 average) had the highest price level, followed by Ireland (127%) and Finland (125%). Price levels of 10% to 20% above the EU27 average were found in Luxembourg (116% of the EU27 average), Sweden (114%), Belgium and France (both 111%), while Italy and Austria (both 105%), Germany (104%) and the Netherlands (103%) were just above the average.

he United Kingdom (99% of the EU27 average), Spain (96%) and Greece (94%) were just below the average, while Cyprus (90%), Portugal (87%) and Slovenia (83%) were between 10% and 20% below. Price levels between 20% and 30% below the average were observed in Malta (78%), Estonia (77%), Latvia (75%), the Czech Republic (72%), Hungary and Slovakia (both 70%). The lowest price levels were found in Bulgaria (51%), Romania (62%), Lithuania (67%) and Poland (69%).

Eurostat report: Wide spread in consumer prices across Europe in 2008

Highest price level in Denmark and lowest in Bulgaria

Price levels for food and non-alcoholic beverages in 2008 ranged from 67% of the EU27 average in Bulgaria to 147% of the average in Denmark. Among Member States, differences in price levels were smaller for this product group than for total goods and services. For alcoholic beverages and tobacco, prices were lowest in Romania (61% of the average) and highest in Ireland (184%). This large price variation is mainly due to differences in taxation of these products among member countries.

Clothing is one of the groups of products showing the smallest price variation among Member States. The United Kingdom (83% of the average) was cheapest and Finland (123% of the average) was most expensive for clothing.

Consumer electronics is another group of products where prices differed less among member countries. The lowest prices for these products were found in the United Kingdom (86% of the average) and the highest in Malta (126%). Excluding Denmark, price differences among Member States were also limited for personal transport equipment. Price levels varied from 84% of the EU27 average in Romania to 174% of the average in Denmark and 125% in Ireland.

For restaurants and hotels, price variations were more significant, with price levels ranging from 40% of the average in Bulgaria to 151% of the average in Denmark.

Related Articles


© Copyright 2009 by Finfacts.com

Top of Page

European
Latest Headlines
German investor confidence was stable in March; Eonomic analysts expect the economy to slowly recover in coming months
Eurozone annual inflation down to 0.9% in February; EU27 down to 1.4%
European car sales rose in February despite a post-scrappage scheme plunge in Germany
Eurozone finance ministers agree on how support package for Greece would be provided if the need quickly arises
Employment in the Eurozone fell a record 2.7 million in 2009; One in three unemployed persons in the EU27 have been jobless for over a year
Eurozone finance ministers meet to discuss Greece; French Economy Minister urges Germany to cut trade surplus and boost demand
Eurozone industrial production surged in January; December was revised up; Chemical sector boosted Irish production by 15.3% in month
German housing completions in 2009 fell to lowest level in at least 50 years
German manufacturing sector turnover and industrial output grew in January despite the severe weather
Merkel backs EMF fund proposal for Eurozone
Private sector activity in Northern Ireland fell at the fastest rate in ten months in February
Germany gives crucial backing for the creation of a "European Monetary Fund" that would act like the IMF in supporting Eurozone countries
Entrepreneurship in Germany: what should be learned from Silicon Valley?
Trichet says ECB will continue to provide liquidity to Eurozone banks at "very favorable conditions"
European Central Bank keeps benchmark rate at 1%; Bank of England kept its key rate at 0.5% - - the lowest since 1694
House prices in Europe remain above long-term average; Further price declines likely in Spain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy and France
Greece announces €4.8bn austerity plan
Recovery in Eurozone service sector remained fragile in February
Competitiveness and public-sector finances: Three factors for boosting stability in the Eurozone
Real Madrid remains the world’s largest revenue generating football club