Romania's annual inflation rate goes up to -0.2% in August

Romania’s annual inflation rate, which measures the changes in consumer prices in the last year, rose to -0.2% in August from -0.8% in July, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INS). The indicator shows that the effect of the general VAT cut from 24% to 20% at the beginning of this year has begun to fade away. Food prices rose by almost 2% in the last 12 months while the prices of non-food products went down by an average 1.4% and the service prices declined by 1%. Consumer prices rose on average by 0.07% in August compared to July. Food prices dropped by 0.09% on average in August compared to the previous month whereas services were cheaper by 0.09%, due to the local currency’s appreciation. However, the non-food goods were more expensive by 0.26% in August compared to the previous month. The highest month-on-month price increases were recorded by lemons (5.1%), eggs (3.55%), cigarettes (1.8%), and beans (1.55%). editor@romania-insider.com