Romania's annual inflation rate reaches new record low in December 2014

Consumer prices in Romania went down by 0.1% month-on-month in December 2014, as prices of non-food products decreased by 0.5% and service tariffs and food prices increased by 0.3% and 0.2% respectively, according to recent data from the National Statistics Institute INS. The annual inflation rate dropped to 0.86% in December, this being a new record low. This was mainly due to food prices, which recorded an overall decrease of 0.4% in December 2014 compared to December 2013. Non-food prices increased by 1.25% over the same period, while prices for services went up by 2.25%. The highest price increases (December 2014 on December 2013) were recorded for honey (+8.2%), cigarettes (+7.25%), eggs (+6.14%) and postal services (+5.5%). On the other hand, potatoes got cheaper by 35%. Other significant price decreases were recorded for sugar (-18%), eatable oil (-7.85%), electricity (-2.3%) and fuels (-1.85%). The average price increase for the entire year was 1.1%, according to INS. In November, consumer prices decreased by 0.2% month-on-month and the annual inflation rate went down to 1.26%, from 1.44% in October. Lower than expected oil prices keep inflation below 1.5% in Romania. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com