Annual inflation rate goes up to 5.1 pct in August

The annual inflation rate increased in August to 5.1 pct, from 4.56 pct in July, when the prices of non-food goods rose by 6.78 pct compared to the same month last year, the food products by 4.15 pct and services by 2.61 pct, according to data released on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). 

Inflation continued its upward trend in August after just one month in which there was a slight decrease. 

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

"Consumer prices in August 2018 increased by 5.1 pct as compared to in August 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 ( September 2017 to August 2018), based on the CPI, is 4.2 pct. Based on the HICP, the average rate is 3.5 pct," reads a press release of INS sent to AGERPRES. 

The average monthly inflation rate in the first eight 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 July, for the sixth consecutive month, Romania recorded the highest annual inflation rate among the EU Member States, with a 4.3 pct consumer price advance, but declining as compared to June's annual inflation rate of 4.7 pct, show the data published in mid-August by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat).