While lower fuel prices contributed the most to the annual deflation, summer clearance sales were the main factor contributing to the monthly deflation, according to the office.

Lower prices of petroleum products contributed 0.8 percentage points to the annual deflation, with prices of motor fuel decreasing by 9.7%.

Also contributing to the annual deflation were lower prices of package holidays (0.2 points), and lower prices of natural gas and personal cars (0.1 points each).

Prices of food were meanwhile up, in particular prices of fruit, which were up by 12.7%.

In monthly comparison, summer clearance sales of clothing and footwear contributed 1.1 percentage points to deflation. Prices of clothing and footwear were down by 14.6% compared to June.

Lower prices of fruit and vegetables and petroleum products in July contributed 0.1 percentage points each to the monthly deflation.

Measured with the harmonised index of consumer prices, an EU gauge, prices dropped by 0.7% both at the annual and monthly level in July.

The average deflation in the last 12 months is 0.4%, which compares to a 0.9% growth in prices in the previous period.