New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that lower petrol and diesel prices led to another fall in consumer prices in December.
The CSO says that prices fell by 0.1% last month, which meant that the annual rate of inflation fell from 2.6% to 2.5%. This follows a drop from 3% to 2.6% in November. The average rate for all of 2005 was 2.2%.
The transport sector saw the biggest fall in prices, with a 0.6% decrease in December. Clothing and footwear prices were 0.5% lower while the lower cost of spirits and beer in off-licences led to a 0.3% fall in overall prices in the alcoholic beverages and tobacco sector.
These decreases were partially offset by an increase in prices in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels sector, which rose by 0.7%.
The CSO said this was due to an increase in average mortgage interest repayments, as higher interest rates were brought into effect by some of the big lenders here.
