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Romania’s Jan Inflation +1.24% M-M, Annual CPI Widens To 6.71%

Romanian consumer price index rose by a higher than expected 1.24% in January, compared with the previous month, and the annual inflation widened to 6.71%, from 6.3% end-December, the National Statistics Institute, or INS, reported Thursday.
Romania's Jan Inflation +1.24% M-M, Annual CPI Widens To 6.71%
12 feb. 2009, 10:11, English

Inflation grew in January, mainly due to an increase in service prices.

In January, prices for services were up 3.2% on the month, while food and non-food products registered a monthly growth of 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. Fuel prices were up 1.2% on the month in January.

In the services sector, telephony service prices were up 7.7% in January, mainly due to the depreciation of the Romanian leu against the euro at the beginning of 2009. Air services saw their prices up 7.68% at the end of January.

Romanian leu has lost more than 8% versus the euro in January.

Six Romanian analysts polled by MEDIAFAX saw the annual consumer price index in January at 6.3%-6.6%, from 6.3% in December, while the monthly inflation was estimated to grow up to 0.9%-1.1%, compared with 0.23% in December.

The harmonized index of consumer prices, or HICP, stood at 7.9% at the end of January.

Romania’s inflation in 2008 ranked at 6.3%, as the depreciation of the leu against the euro by the end of the year counterbalanced the positive effect of price decrease in non-food products, economic analysts said.