Household energy prices continue to climb
Austrians had to fork out almost six per cent more on household energy in November than in the same month of last year.The Austrian Energy Agency announced today (Mon) households had to spend 5.8 per cent more on gas, electricity and other products and services last month compared year on year. The authority added it only registered an overall 0.6 per cent increase in prices from October to November of this year.The agency said its investigations also show that Superbenzin car fuel was 7.6 per cent more expensive in November than in the same month of 2009l, while diesel fuel prices jumped by 10.7 per cent. The body said the average price for heating oil jumped by a whopping 18 per cent, adding that gas price rates edged up by 0.6 per cent.Car fuel will become more even expensive next year as all petrol station are expected to adapt their prices to the higher mineral oil taxes agreed upon by the government earlier this month.The Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the Peoples Party (ÖVP) passed a law which will increase the taxation rate on diesel fuel by four Eurocents and the tax on regular car petrol by five Eurocents from January.Diesel petrol is currently taxed with 44.2 Eurocents, while one litre of regular car fuel is burdened with 34.7 Eurocents.Meanwhile, state agency Statistik Austria said it found that a 3.3 per cent rise in energy prices and a 2.7 per cent increase of housing maintenance costs kept the annual inflation rate from declining more significantly than from 2.1 per cent in November 2009 to 1.9 per cent in the same month this year.