Consumer prices were on average 1.5 per cent lower in October compared with the same month last year with the cost of communications, transport, clothing and footwear all falling.
In October 2019 prices were rising at an annual rate of 1 per cent, while this year's Covid-19 restrictions have curtailed consumer activity and turned inflation into deflation.
The latest consumer price index from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows decreases in communications, which includes phone charges (-7.9 per cent), transport (-4.3 per cent), clothing and footwear (-4.4 per cent) and household furnishings and equipment (-4 per cent).
Within the transport category, diesel and petrol prices were down 7.7 per cent and 5.9 per cent in annual terms.
The figures show there were price increases in health (+4.2 per cent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (+0.8 per cent), recreation and culture (+0.7 per cent) and restaurants and hotels (+0.1 per cent).
