A significant increase in transport costs pushed Irish prices up in April, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the CSO.

It meant inflation rose at its highest rate since February 2013.

Prices on average were  0.9% higher in April than in the same month a year previous. On a monthly basis, prices were up 0.4%.

The most notable annual change was in transport, with a 7.2% hike in expenses. 

Transport rose mainly due to an increase in air fares and higher petrol and diesel prices. This was partially offset by a reduction in the price of cars. 

The cost of motor insurance premiums, however, was down 2.6%, the first time policies have fallen since December 2013.

According to AA Ireland, petrol and diesel prices actually fell by an average of 1.1c per litre across the country in April. On average, a litre of petrol costs 136.6c, while a litre of diesel will cost 126.0c. That was down from March’s prices of 137.7c and 127.1c per litre respectively.

The decrease marks the first time since September 2016 that the price of a litre of petrol has fallen, while diesel has now fallen to its lowest level since the beginning of 2017.

The cost of health increased by 2.2% and miscellaneous goods and services were up 1.7% due to higher insurance premiums. 

There was also a 2% rise in prices in the restaurants and hotels sector.

Conversely, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance was down 4.9%. Sales on the high street also meant that clothing and footwear items were down 4.3%.

The cost of food and soft drinks dropped 2.7%, with lower prices seen across a range of products such as chocolate and confectionery, mineral waters, soft drinks, fruit and vegetable juices, meat and milk, cheese and eggs.