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Romania is facing an inflation twice as high as the level considered optimal for this indicator, and this does not depend on the authorities' statements, Adrian Vasilescu, strategy consultant with the National Bank of Romania (BNR) told a profile conference on Wednesday.
"Inflation strikes without taking into account what the Government says, what the companies say, what the population wants. It strikes," he said, at the conference titled "Upgrade Romania: Solutions for financing Romania's big investment projects", organized by the DC Media Group press trust.
He showed that, as of 2017, Romania has been facing an inflation of 4 - 5 percent, given that the ideal inflation stands at 2 percent.
"In this world, from America to Japan, it has been agreed that inflation should be 2 percent, considered optimal. No more, no less. 2 percent is like a glass of good wine after the meal, which acts as a tonic. But one glass, not a second glass. Behold, since 2017, we have been drinking two glasses, because the ideal inflation should be 2 percent, and we have 4-5 percent continuously, month by month, per year, per 12 months," continued Vasilescu.
The data published by Eurostat on September 18 show that the annual inflation rate in the euro area was 1 percent in August, stable compared to the previous month, and 1.4 percent in the European Union, also stable compared to the previous month, whereas Romania (at 4.1 percent) recorded the highest inflation rate in the EU.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, the annual inflation rate fell to 3.9 percent in August this year, from 4.1 percent in July, given that non-food commodities become by 2.98 percent more expensive, food items by 5.02 percent and the price of services registered an advance of 4.23 percent.
The National Bank of Romania increased the inflation forecast to 4.2 percent by the end of this year and estimates an inflation of 3.3 percent by 2020.
