Consumer prices, up 1.28% in Romania in October versus previous month

Consumer prices in Romania increased by an average 1.28% in October versus September driven by food and energy, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute (INS). The vegetables’ prices went up by 7.66% month-on-month in October, egg prices went up by 6.63%, and fruits got more expensive by 6.19%. Potatoes and butter also saw recorded significant price increases. In the non-food segment, electricity prices went up by 6.94%, fuel prices increased by 3.47%, and heat prices gained 1.96% over the previous month. Romania’s annual inflation rate, which measures the increase in consumer prices over a period of 12 months, reached 2.63% in October, the highest level in four years. Food prices went up by an average 3.51% in the last 12 months while non-food prices increased by 3.26%. However, service prices declined by 0.33% in the last year. Romania’s National Bank (BNR0 released last week its updated inflation forecast, which shows that the annual growth in consumer prices will peak in the first quarter of next year, after which it will gradually decline to 3.2% at the end of 2018. editor@romania-insider.com