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The annual inflation rate rose to 2.8% in July this year from 2.6% in June, given that food prices rose by 5.57%, service prices advanced 3% and non-food prices picked up 0.88%, according to data published on Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
"Consumer prices increased by 2.8% in July 2020 compared to July 2019. The annual rate calculated on the basis of the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) is 2.5%. The average rate of consumer prices in the last 12 months (August 2019 - July 2020) compared to the previous 12 months (August 2018 - July 2019), calculated on the basis of the CPI, is 3.2%. Determined on the basis of the HICP, the average rate is 3.1%," reads the INS press release.
The annual CPI inflation rate for the end of this year and next year is forecast at 2.7% and 2.5%, respectively, according to the Inflation Report published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR).
"The estimated contribution of the change in indirect taxes is 0.2 percentage points at the end of this year and 0.4 percentage points at the end of next year. The average annual rate of CPI inflation will continue its downward path from the first half of this year, but at a slower pace, being anticipated to reach 2.5% at the projection horizon of the second quarter of 2022," mentions the report.
According to the BNR, compared to the previous report, the revisions for the annual CPI inflation rate are minor. The value anticipated for the end of the current year is lower by 0.1 percentage points, in the conditions of the downward revaluation of the contribution of the exogenous components of the consumption basket, which counterbalances the projection on this horizon of slightly higher values in the case of the core inflation. For the end of next year, the forecast is similar to the previous one.
