Food prices see inflation climb to 2% in April

CSO estimates food prices rose by 3.1% in the past 12 months

Energy prices are estimated to have fallen by 1.7% over the 12 months to April 2025 while food prices were estimated to have increased by 3.1% in the same period.

Annual Irish inflation tipped upwards in April, rising by 2% as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP). 

New figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Wednesday show inflation climbed by 0.2% in April, up from 1.8% in the previous month.

It also compares to an annual increase of 2.2% for the eurozone in the same period.

The consumer price index is the official measure of inflation in Ireland, while the HICP is an index of consumer prices that has been harmonised to allow for comparisons across euro area countries. 

Among the components of the flash HICP figures for Ireland, energy prices are estimated to have fallen by 1.7% over the 12 months to April 2025. Meanwhile, food prices were estimated to have increased by 3.1% in the same period.

On a monthly basis, harmonised inflation rose by 0.4 percentage points since March 2025. In the same period, energy prices are reported to have decreased by 0.3%, while food prices rose by 0.6%, CSO figures show. 

Excluding energy and unprocessed foods, Irish inflation, measured by the HICP is estimated to have increased by 2.5% in the 12 months. 

The European Central Bank cut its benchmark rate to 2.25% earlier this month, reaching the upper range of the 1.75%-2.25% range it sees as neutral, while governors are becoming more confident about a further reduction in June.

The EU's statistics agency, Eurostat will publish flash estimates of inflation for the Eurozone for April on Friday.