Annual inflation rate dips in September, to 5.03pct

The annual inflation rate dipped in September to 5.03 pct, from 5.1 pct in August, given that the prices of non-food goods rose by 6.55 pct compared to the same month last year, the food products by 4.44 pct whereas services advanced by 2.54 pct, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). 

This year, the highest annual inflation rate was recorded in May, of 5.41 pct respectively, the highest level since February 2013, when the rise of consumer prices reached 5.65 pct. 

"Consumer prices in September 2018 increased by 5.0 pct as compared to in September 2017. The annual rate based on the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) is 4.7 pct. The average inflation rate in the last 12 months (October 2017 to September 2018), based on the CPI, is 4.5 pct. Based on the HICP, the average rate is 3.8 pct," reads a press release of INS sent to AGERPRES. 

The average monthly inflation rate in the first nine months of this year was 0.3 pct, up from 0.1 pct in the same period in 2017. 

At the beginning of August, the National Bank of Romania (BNR) revised downward to 3.5 pct, from 3.6 pct the inflation forecast for the end of this year. 

For the end of 2019, the BNR estimates an inflation rate of 2.7 pct, down 0.3 percentage points. 

In August, for the seventh consecutive month, Romania recorded the highest annual inflation rate among the EU Member States, with a 4.7 pct consumer price advance, following June's annual inflation rate of 4.3 pct, show data published by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat).