Consumer prices see marginal increase in October. Inflation still declining

Consumer prices increased by 0.2 percent in October 2014 compared to the previous month on higher prices in food and services fields, yet pulling down annual inflation rate from 1.54 percent in September 2014 to 1.44 percent, according to the data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INSSE).       

Thus, in October 2014, both prices of food and services increased by 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, compared to May 2014, while price of non-food goods went down by 0.1 percent.  As regards the evolution in the first ten months of the year, food prices increased by 0.2 percent compared to the level recorded in December 2013, while non-food goods also became cheaper after a 0.1 percent decline in their price as well as services whose price went down by 0.1 percent.

In the same period, January 1 – October 31, 2014 the monthly average inflation rate was 0.1 percent, the same as in the similar period of 2013.

Overall, the average price change was 1.2 percent over the last 12 months (July 2013 – June 2014) as compared to the previous 12 months (June 2012 – June 2013) based on the Consumer Price Index, while increasing by 1.4 percent given the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).

In the report released in early-November 2014, Romania’s National Bank projects an annual inflation rate of 1.5 percent at end-2014, 2 percentage points below the level forecasted in February 2014.