The industrial prices in Romania leapt up by 8.6% in January alone, while the annual industrial price inflation soared to 43% from 33% in December, according to data released by the statistics office INS.

The price of utilities (electricity, gas, heating) surged by 146% YoY - nearly 2.5 times - in January 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, after a substantial 24% monthly advance (m-o-m) compared to December.

The prices in the manufacturing industries (+19.9% YoY) have increased at much slower rates, while the prices of consumer goods (particularly non-durable consumer goods) posted much slower growth rates.

This wide discrepancy generates significant tensions that are accumulating along the production chain, posing real threats to consumer (end-user) price inflation.

The prices of durable consumer goods already increased by 16.1% YoY (+4.25% in January compared to December), but the prices of non-durable consumer goods rose by only 8.5% YoY (+1.7% m-o-m).

The prices of capital goods actually decreased by 0.2% mom in January while they advanced by a rather moderate (circumstances given) 10% YoY.

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iulian@romania-insider.com